{"id":7753,"date":"2014-02-16T21:42:23","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T02:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=7753"},"modified":"2014-02-16T21:52:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T02:52:46","slug":"transparency-in-government-is-essential-to-the-public-trust-vdt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/transparency-in-government-is-essential-to-the-public-trust-vdt.html","title":{"rendered":"Transparency in government is essential to the public trust –VDT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nVDT editorial yesterday,\r\n\r\nViolating public trust<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nGeorgia Attorney General Sam Olens successfully fought for and\r\nimplemented changes to the state’s Open Records law, believing that\r\ntransparency in government is essential to the public trust. The law\r\npassed in 2012 states, “The General Assembly finds and\r\ndeclares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of\r\nopen government; that open government is essential to a free, open,\r\nand democratic society; and that public access to public records\r\nshould be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that\r\nthe public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the\r\nefficient and proper functioning of its institutions.”\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThe VDT asked for records from the Lowndes County school system\r\nand didn’t get them.\r\nTheir experience sounds quite similar to many LAKE has had\r\nwith the county government in particular,\r\nwith records not being provided in the statutory three days,\r\nand sometimes not even an excuse or a list of what might\r\neventually be available.\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nThat plus\r\n\r\nfailure to make even agendas for the Planning Commission available\r\nin a timely fashion so citizens can see whether they need to attend<\/a>\r\n(somebody explain to me\r\nthe expense of agendas<\/a>; clearly I don’t understand this\r\nInternet suff),\r\nand even in response to open records requests returning paper\r\nwhen the documents are obviously composed in electronic formats,\r\nagendas for County Commission meetings that are\r\n\r\njust plain incorrect, resulting in people taking time off from work\r\nto show up unnecessarily<\/a> for a Sabal Trail pipeline item that didn’t happen,\r\na\r\n\r\npublic hearing that wasn’t listed as such on the agenda<\/a>,\r\na secretive retreat “work session”<\/a>,\r\nand not\r\n\r\neven being clear about what tax dollars for SPLOST would go for<\/a>.\r\nThat’s not even all; just a sample of county government lack of\r\ntransparency.\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nAnd it’s not just the County Commission.\r\nLook at\r\n\r\nGeorge Rhynes’ experience at the Library Board<\/a>,\r\nbeing required to stay within an 8 x 4 foot blue square\r\nnext to a loud fan?\r\nThat blue square did disappear not long afterwards, so there’s some\r\nsmall improvement.\r\n

\r\nIt’s not even the actual local governments; it’s also the\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\n\r\nVSU Foundation<\/a>,\r\nwhich in addition to being led by a climate change denier,\r\ndoesn’t even list its members\r\n\r\non its web page<\/a>,\r\neven though that web page is on the website of the tax-funded\r\nValdosta State University.\r\n

\r\n

\r\n\r\nThe public has a right to know. The press has a right to request.\r\nThese rights are protected by state law. Public officials have the\r\nresponsibility to be open in their actions and abide by not only the\r\nletter of the law but also the spirit and intent. When they fail to\r\ndo so, it erodes the public’s trust.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nI hate to agree with the VDT, but I do also often quote the VDT\r\n\r\neditorial of 3 March 2012<\/a>:\r\n

\r\n

\r\n<\/a>\r\nWhen the media requests records, it is doing so on behalf of the\r\npublic. Taxpayers have the right to know how their money is being\r\nspent by officials elected to represent them. When officials are\r\nreluctant to comply with requests, it raises legitimate concerns.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThere should be no transaction or record that an official should be\r\nconcerned about being made public….\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nWhen officials act like they have something to hide, they often do,\r\nand when they begin to consider the government’s business as their\r\npersonal business, it’s time for the public to become concerned.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nIf\r\n\r\nEffingham County<\/a>, half the size, can do put its entire County Commission\r\nagenda packet online, why not Lowndes?\r\n

\r\nDo our local governments have something to hide?\r\n

\r\nDo we want to be a metropolitan area attractive to both new businesses\r\nand local people?\r\nOr do we want to be a secretive backwater that ejects its students\r\nas soon as they graduate?\r\n

\r\nIt’s 2014.\r\nMaybe the powers that be should start to make up their minds about that.\r\n

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