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County Hall
The secrecy by which the county commissioners adopted their ill-fated health insurance perk continues undeterred.
County Attorney Steve Fowler apparently has been appointed to be a gatekeeper of public documents – documents that the public owns and has a right to see – even though gatekeeping is not allowed by state law.
Theater of the absurd continued this week at County Hall when reporter Nicole Cartrette couldn’t get a copy of last year’s budget even though it was sitting on a shelf in plain view. The county employee told Cartrette that all requests for public documents must go through the county attorney, a violation of the Public Records Law.
The law is clear – public documents are the “property of the people.” Motive is irrelevant. The law says that anyone should be able to walk into a government office and view public records without being given the run-around by the powers-that-be who think the records are their personal property. This includes employee policy manuals.
And then there’s the matter of two apparently illegal meetings held when a majority of the commissioners met after last Monday night’s meeting and prior to their 3 p.m. Friday session to hash out the details of their vote to rescind the health insurance provision. Fowler, Varner and the commissioners know better.
More secrecy. Thumbing their noses at the law.
Counties with good government and professional staff understand the importance of the laws that promote open government and public records because government is supposed to operate that way.
Government that operates in illegal meetings or throws up roadblocks to citizens seeking public information does so when it has something to hide.
Enough said.