GREENFIELD — Mayor William Martin has revoked an executive order that made city councilors go through his office for any information needed from municipal offices.
The executive order, which was put in place in 2017, made the council request information from his office as a way to “preserve the limited time and resources of each department leader,” Martin said in a statement.
Once Martin’s office received the request, his office would then send the request to the individual he deemed best to provide an answer. Concerns over transparency and complete information, however, have prompted Martin to change the policy.
Martin wrote in his statement he removed the executive order due to the “risk of overloading tightly staffed departments and amid complaints that we falsely embargo information.”
City Council President Karen “Rudy” Renaud said she “views this as a positive step” since it will allow the council to get information more quickly than before.
“Many times in council meetings it’s been stated that councilors have had a difficult time getting answers they needed,” she said. “Lifting this ban would help alleviate that and create more transparency.”