Amid a series of scandals over New York City Council members’ dispersal of discretionary funds to community organizations, the city’s ombudsman plans to create a public database of applicants for such earmarks, reports The New York Times.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s proposal aims to add transparency to a process that is the subject of a wide-ranging probe by federal and city investigators, who say some of the nonprofit grant recipients were phony or employed council members’ relatives. An ex-councilman, Miguel Martinez, pleaded guilty late last year to misappropriating funds, and Councilman Larry Seabrook has been indicted on similar charges.

Mr. de Blasio’s plan would encourage city officials to post earmark applications on a searchable public Web site. Such posting would not be mandatory, but the ombudsman said that if any officials do not participate, “I won’t hesitate to point that out.”

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