The Stakeholder Alliance

 DRAFT MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE 
TO PROVIDE FOR CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY

Purpose: 

The purpose of this ordinance is to provide for appropriate accountability from corporations seeking to do business with or obtain benefits from this city.

Whereas: 

Publicly chartered corporations may, from time to time, seek contracts, tax abatements, zoning exemptions, industrial development bonds, utility and service extensions, and other benefits from the City of _________, and 

Proper consideration of such requests requires that public officials have prior access to relevant information from the corporation, and 

Ad hoc or contemporaneous solicitation of such information is inefficient, and may cause delays in consideration of such requests or action not in the public interest, and 

Citizens of the City of ___________ have a right to appropriate information regarding the responsibility and performance of corporations that may benefit from public actions, 

Be it therefore ordered that:

The City of __________ will not contract with any corporation in an amount exceeding $______ nor consider any action to benefit a particular corporation unless that corporation has previously provided the City Clerk with a report in full compliance with The Sunshine Standards for Corporate Reporting to Stakeholders*; publication of such a report on a publicly accessible Internet site will constitute adequate compliance with this requirement.

*The Sunshine Standards have been promulgated by the Stakeholder Alliance, a national body of community, labor, consumer, civil rights, women’s equity, religious, and other organizations concerned with the interests of corporate stakeholders, and comprised of over 5 million members.  The standards complement and extend “generally accepted accounting principles” which govern corporate reporting to financial investors. 

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