July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
More sunshine always better than less (03/16/06)
Editorial
The old blues song says it all. “You don’t miss your sunshine ’til it’s gone.”
That’s true whether we’re talking about the kind of sunny days that lie ahead this spring or the kind of sunshine that’s the focus of media attention this week across America.
We all take the sunshine — and open, transparent government — for granted.
It’s not until a government official denies a citizen access to a public record or a government body starts fudging on public meeting requirements that the absence of sunshine hits us like a slap across the face.
Locally, the record is mixed.
Most city and county employees now have a pretty good handle on what’s a public record and what’s not open for public inspection. But they’d be the first to admit that it has taken years to get comfortable with where those lines are drawn.
In the early years after passage of Indiana’s public records law, clerical employees in local government were often at sea. Since then, most have worked through a learning curve and have a pretty good handle on the law. At the very least, they’ve learned not to say “no” reflexively but to seek expert advice instead of automatically obstructing access.
When it comes to public meetings, the track record is mixed as well.
Just when we think everyone has a basic understanding of the spirit of the law, we encounter folks who prefer to keep the public in the dark. Sometimes it’s a matter of not knowing the rules. Sometimes it’s a matter of sloppiness. But in either case, the effect is the same: Transparency is lost, and the public is excluded.
High marks in this category would go to the Jay County Commissioners and the board of the Jay County Development Corporation. The commissioners have a record of public openness going back more than a decade. The JCDC board, directing a non-governmental agency that arguably doesn’t have to follow the letter of the open meetings law, does so anyway. That’s been the tradition since the start. Lower marks, at the moment, would go to the Dunkirk City Council, which has stumbled a couple of times.
Is the sun shining on government in Jay County and Indiana? Most of the time.
Could it be better? You bet. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
That’s true whether we’re talking about the kind of sunny days that lie ahead this spring or the kind of sunshine that’s the focus of media attention this week across America.
We all take the sunshine — and open, transparent government — for granted.
It’s not until a government official denies a citizen access to a public record or a government body starts fudging on public meeting requirements that the absence of sunshine hits us like a slap across the face.
Locally, the record is mixed.
Most city and county employees now have a pretty good handle on what’s a public record and what’s not open for public inspection. But they’d be the first to admit that it has taken years to get comfortable with where those lines are drawn.
In the early years after passage of Indiana’s public records law, clerical employees in local government were often at sea. Since then, most have worked through a learning curve and have a pretty good handle on the law. At the very least, they’ve learned not to say “no” reflexively but to seek expert advice instead of automatically obstructing access.
When it comes to public meetings, the track record is mixed as well.
Just when we think everyone has a basic understanding of the spirit of the law, we encounter folks who prefer to keep the public in the dark. Sometimes it’s a matter of not knowing the rules. Sometimes it’s a matter of sloppiness. But in either case, the effect is the same: Transparency is lost, and the public is excluded.
High marks in this category would go to the Jay County Commissioners and the board of the Jay County Development Corporation. The commissioners have a record of public openness going back more than a decade. The JCDC board, directing a non-governmental agency that arguably doesn’t have to follow the letter of the open meetings law, does so anyway. That’s been the tradition since the start. Lower marks, at the moment, would go to the Dunkirk City Council, which has stumbled a couple of times.
Is the sun shining on government in Jay County and Indiana? Most of the time.
Could it be better? You bet. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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