Letter to the Editor

I salute you on your “Shedding Light on Sunshine Laws” editorial. I am a strong supporter of the Texas Sunshine Laws, primarily the Public Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. I’ve also made the mistake of sending an e-mail to too many board members and have been publicly censured for doing so. I’m thankful the AG’s office concluded it was the rookie mistake that it was. I don’t know the content of the e-mail nor the intent of the people described in your editorial so I’ll reserve judgment on their individual case. However, I am concerned with the rulings to date and the precedent they may set.

I think there is a lot more we can do to maintain Open Government in Texas and Cooke County. The governmental bodies post their agendas on their web sites but some agenda items are worded vaguely. In the interest of Open Government, why not post the documents behind each agenda item that the board members are reviewing? Most are created electronically and could easily be posted to a web site in a matter of minutes. That way the citizens will have a good idea of what is being discussed along with what options are being considered and often recommended, so they can speak to them with their elected officials, before or at the meeting. If a board is considering a tuition or tax increase, shouldn’t the citizens know that before their opportunity to speak has passed because the agenda item is worded vaguely?

Most governmental bodies will allow a citizen to speak in an Open Forum for 3-5 minutes. Judge Freeman also allowed individual citizens to speak on individual agenda items. When I attend other governmental body’s meeting, I try to get the board book or packet before the meeting. I’ve found Rebecca Lawson at the County very helpful in that regard. I have had government employees tell me that board books are not public information until after the meeting. That simply isn’t true. As soon as it is written down or recorded, it is considered public information under Texas Law. When the special water board took a vote and tried to keep the results from the public until the next Commissioner’s Court meeting, a concerned citizen called me. I suggested he write up a public information request for the ballots and give it to the chair. He received copies of the ballots later that day.

Contrast that to another governmental body in Cooke County who recently tried to withhold their board book from their new board members until they were sworn in. They ended up having to submit a written request under the TPIA. They were told they would have to pay for it and the governmental body could take ten days to provide it. I guess someone talked to the Attorney General’s office as they got most of the board book within a day. If you request less than 50 pages or take your own portable copier, there usually is no charge for getting copies of public information.

We need informed citizens who know what is going on before vs. after the important decisions are made. In addition to putting the board books on the web 3 days before the meeting with the agenda, why don’t we ask the governmental bodies to post their budgets and actual expenses to date on line too? Why not have them post all bids that are being solicited and any open positions for people to apply online?

I would encourage your newspaper and your peers to keep an eye on governmental bodies and their adherence to the Sunshine Laws. I appreciate your dedicating space to print their meeting notices and agendas. Texas Law requires public officials to take training on the Sunshine Laws within 90 days of taking office. I believe violations of these laws should be pursued as aggressively as speeding tickets and drunk driving offenses. Should we look the other way when there are repeated violations of the public trust and oath of office elected officials take?

There may be more being decided outside of the public meetings than people see. If you see a lot of unanimous votes without much discussion there is a good chance that the board members are unwilling to discuss some matters in public for a variety of reasons. They may not want to risk being embarrassed for asking a perceived “dumb” question in public or they may be concerned that public disagreement isn’t good for the institution. Perhaps they think their role is to hire the top manager and then support them. Do we really think that multi-million dollar budgets, tax rates & increases get a total of an hour or less discussion from your elected officials? Or could it be they are being negotiated behind the scenes so a unified front is presented to the public?

If you want to find out more about government and the Sunshine Laws, NCTC teaches an excellent class on state and local government.

Steve Gaylord

Valley View