Sunday, April 06, 2008
Editorial: Bring open government to Christiansburg
Too much of the public's business is conducted behind closed doors.
From the RoundTable blog
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Christiansburg Town Council members and administrators will get some much-needed schooling about Virginia's open meetings requirements after the town's lawyers conceded "there has been a long-standing misunderstanding" about the law.
The council's finance committee met on March 18 without the formal notice required by Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.
Town Manager Lance Terpenny said the town didn't post meetings of committees and subcommittees. Elizabeth Dillon, a lawyer for the Salem law firm that represents the town, said that practice was based on a misunderstanding.
Administrators didn't think that a committee with fewer than three council members on it was covered by the law because it did not constitute a quorum of the council. But Dillon said the Freedom of Information Act is clear: Committees created by a public body become public bodies themselves and are subject to open meetings requirements.
In response to these concerns, Mayor Richard Ballengee asked the town's lawyers to provide training for council members and administrators.
They need to take this training seriously. The council has gotten in a very bad habit of conducting the public's business behind closed doors.
For instance, most local governments conduct public budget workshops with the full council. Not Christiansburg.
"What usually happens is they come up with a rough budget and call us in to go through it. There are two councilmen at a time," said Councilman Ernie Wade. He thought they did it that way because "if you had all of us in there at one time, it would take forever."
That, and the meeting would have to be public.
Dillon said the practice is legal. Perhaps, but it isn't right. Montgomery County and Blacksburg manage to hold public budget workshops. Why can't Christiansburg?
Councilwoman Ann Carter wondered if the town's lack of openness contributes to public apathy. "When the budget comes up for a public hearing, we usually have one or two people who come," she told Roanoke Times reporter Donna Alvis-Banks. "Maybe we as a town haven't gotten the word out."
Or maybe the public has come to realize that decisions about the budget have already been made behind closed doors. What's the point in participating?
Democracy cannot function properly when the public is shut out of the decision-making process.
Christiansburg council members and administrators need to pay attention to the training they will receive -- and they need to start erring, whenever possible, on the side of openness.
