New Feature: "How Much Does That Cost?"

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(June 7, 2015) -- LBREPORT.com today (June 7) launches a new feature: "How Much Does That Cost?"

Our new, continuing series is inspired by the December 2014 action in which City of Long Beach and the Mayor's office sent releases to media outlets and used mass emailings and social network dispatches that didn't disclose a $1 million taxpayer cost needed to obtain a $3 million private philanthropy "innovation grant," sought by Mayor Garcia's office without prior Council voted approval.

LBREPORT.com used state freedom of information law to uncover the $1 million cost; we reported it; and a few weeks later, the $1 million cost item appeared on a City Council agenda (sourced to city management), requiring the Council to cast a publicly recorded vote to approve the expenditure, which it did without dissent and we likewise reported.

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LBREPORT.com believes the public has a right to know such information. Taxpayers deserve transparency on taxpayer cost issues, especially when the City and its elected officials tout the public results of such spending and simultaneously state their commitment to transparency.

Watch for our first example of "How Much Does That Cost?" coming later today, and continuing on taxpayer items as newsworthy...on LBREPORT.com.