Transparency aids engagement
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It’s no secret I attend many public meetings. It’s also no secret that I am critical and outspoken.
One may find it surprising that I agree with a great deal of the comments made by Courtney Kostesky, the CAO of Gilbert Plains, in her letter to The Carillon. Public employees shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells or be subject to violence when doing their jobs.
However, Kostesky’s recommendation that the public should “use proper channels” lacks nuance. When I look at the poor transparency of many of our local boards and councils, I see few accessible ways for the average citizen to engage.
A great many boards do not publish audio/video recordings of their meetings. Some I know don’t publish agendas well enough in advance for members of the public to know what issues are coming forward. Some boards allow you to apply to be a delegation, but censorship is all too easy. Presenting to a board is not a right, but a granted privilege. Voicemails and emails are easily ignored.
The public can’t be expected to engage properly when information isn’t timely, records are hard to access (or don’t exist), and when there are barriers to access.
Kostesky is correct that a lot of this is not the fault of the bureaucracy.
The boards and councils — that is, our elected or acclaimed leaders — are those responsible for setting the expectations of transparency and outreach to the public via their collective decisions.
It’s my observation that leaders talk a big game about transparency but often fail to deliver. Before councils and bureaucrats scold the public for not engaging properly, they must put in the work to show the public that they’re going to receive and take the public seriously.
Until that happens, don’t be surprised that critiques are tainted by social media instead of groomed by the social contract.
JAMES EPP
Brandon