Corruption is easy to spot at the federal and state level, but it often flies under the radar in local municipalities — from shady deals to malfeasance and waste — with little oversight. IFF holds the legislature accountable, and until now, that accountability has been missing from cities and counties. IFF aims to root out corruption in local governments too and hold officials accountable across the Gem State, and Idahoans can assist that effort by using the tip line and submitting their stories.
I’m glad Lisa Sanchez’s stint as Boise’s only racist city council member has come to an end after she moved out of her district and subsequently kicked herself from office. We all remember how Sanchez said she didn’t have children because of a “fear of their abuse and murder by white people." But Sanchez still…
As a celebration of the new official religion of our country, this upcoming weekend’s 2022 Boise Pride Festival has attracted many corporate and government sponsors who want to signal their fealty to the LGBTQ+ community. Local grocery chain Albertson’s serves as the premier sponsor this year, dusting off its June Pride Month logo once again.…
With house prices at record highs in the Boise metro area, there are many voices demanding that city government do something. Usually, government solutions to housing involve spending taxpayer dollars to subsidize mortgages and rents for certain groups of people. But on the other end of the ideological spectrum is the free market solution, which…
In choosing how to utilize taxpayer money, cities can either expand freedom or curtail it. Even fiscally conservative elected leaders face the temptation to use more and more public funds for good reasons. As the political and cultural capital of Idaho, what happens in Boise affects all Idahoans. How they choose to use their taxpayer…
This week’s winner was also recently featured as a part of a cabal of statists known as the Flip Flop Five: Patti Anne Lodge, Jim Woodward, Jim Guthrie, Jim Patrick, and Fred Martin. These state senators voted to sustain the governor’s veto of a bill that would have rolled back the governor’s emergency powers. Now,…
In September, I wrote an article explaining how local Idaho officials were not imposing any meaningful sanctions on government bodies whenever those bodies were found to be in violation of Idaho’s Open Meetings Law. Unfortunately, that trend continues. This last Friday, the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office forwarded me a response to an Open Meetings…
Have you witnessed a lack of accountability in your local government? Please share your story with us.
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Idaho has 44 counties. Find fiscal data, online services, and more resources using the county links in the map below.
County and city links provided by transparent.idaho.gov
Local government — a shining beacon of accountability. Where else can you find public officials approving deals without public meetings, zoning contracts over lunch, and budget allocations that somehow always favor the mayor’s family’s construction company? One might even say they are “the gold standard of transparent governance” — that is, if you live in a parallel universe.
A harsh reality Idahoans have faced — particularly over the last year — is counties, cities, and school boards gone rogue. Too often, local governments operate in the quiet and are shielded from scrutiny by low public engagement, little to no oversight, and a stunning lack of accountability for their actions.
When governments or officials make headlines for the misappropriation of funds, nepotism, or outright corruption, it is typically at the federal or state levels. Local government largely flies under the radar. Decisions are made in “executive meetings,” minutes are sparse and buried in websites that are difficult to navigate, and the line between public service and personal interest is often, let's say, blurred.
The lack of citizen and legislative accountability has created a breeding ground for corruption. The saddest part of all of this, arguably, is that elected officials and government employees are getting away with it because almost no one is watching. Or at least, almost no one was watching.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation has been inundated by stories from citizens of corruption at all levels of local government over the past few years. Through public records requests, social media, and grassroots organizing, Idahoans have begun holding their local leaders accountable.
In a Constitutional Republic, governmental oversight doesn't come from the top down. It starts with the citizenry — the working mom who reads the city budget for fun, the outraged parents whose kids are being politically targeted at school, the retiree who attends every council meeting, and the hard-working businessmen who won’t let shady deals go unquestioned.
An informed citizenry is a powerful citizenry, and a powerful citizenry results in an accountable government. Corruption occurs when governments are not held accountable. Corruption thrives in darkness, and now, informed citizens are flipping on the lights.
