Bring government into the open (1/3/04)

When it comes to local government and New Year’s resolutions, one tops the list: This year, abide by not just the letter but the spirit of Indiana’s laws on open meetings and open records.

Openness in government has been an issue in Indiana for more than two decades, but the track record of performance is still pretty uneven.

Some folks — some boards and councils and public officials — get it. And others, unfortunately, don’t.

Admittedly, the law can sometimes be unwieldy, particularly when it comes to open meetings.

When you’re dealing with a three-person entity like the county commissioners, for example, it’s easy to find yourself with an unintentional quorum slipping into a discussion of public issues.

Ironically, we’d give the Jay County Commissioners among the highest marks locally when it comes to adherence to the law and effort to conduct public business in the public eye.

At the opposite end of the scale would be hospital boards around the state, which have successfully lobbied for enormous loopholes and exceptions in the law. As a result, far too much business is hammered out behind closed doors, then merely formalized and “explained” after the real decisions have been made. It may be legal, but it’s unhealthy and far from the spirit of the law.

Somewhere in between are those boards and councils which meet in small groups, less than a quorum, to build consensus and smooth out rough spots.

Sure, those private conversations and phone calls aren’t a violation of the law. And meetings sure go smoothly when the chair knows how the votes are shaping up in advance.

But the goal of representative democracy isn’t smooth-running meetings. The goal is robust, open discussion and debate conducted in the public eye with as much transparency as possible. Democracy can be messy, but sometimes a messy process builds public trust. — J.R.

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