‘Never’ Does Not Exist - Let The Sun Shine In

May 20th, 2006 | by christine |

“We will never have the prosperity we had in the 90’s. The people of Michigan just have to learn to live with less.”
–Richard Ball, debate with Mike Powers, September 2004

Note: This is the second in a series on revitalizing Shiawassee County

Government Transformation — Let The Sun Shine In

One of the foundations of democracy is public scrutiny of government. It is the right and the responsibility of every citizen to monitor the actions of our elected representatives and public agencies. When properly exercised, open government saves money and ensures integrity.

Unfortunately, there are many barriers to open government in Shiawassee County. Public information is only available from 9am-5pm on weekdays, during which time you may view the information in the county offices. Paper copies of this information can be purchased, but only at prices that are higher than a free market would ever support. Questions to our elected representatives go unanswered, because there are few legal mechanisms by which to require them to respond. Meetings are held at times which exclude people who work during the day. It has become a burden on the people to participate in their own government.

It is the responsibility of the government to comply with the Open Meetings Act and Open Records Act, and there is no reason to suggest that our government does not comply with these Sunshine Laws. However, there are many citizens who want to participate in local government. They want to ask questions and be involved in decision making. They want to make sure that their tax money isn’t being squandered and that their government isn’t corrupt. These citizens must be disappointed in how difficult it is to get information from the county.

The government of Shiawassee County must change the way that it thinks about public information. The decisions and conduct of our county employees are not their secrets to keep. With proper information distribution, our residents can make better decisions regarding issues and elections.

With just a few simple tools and practices, our government can ensure that the citizens know and understand their rights of participation.

  • Publish all public information on the county website. This includes meeting schedules, agendas, minutes, budgets, personnel policies, bidding procedures, agency responsibilities, and contact information.2
  • Create opt-in mailing lists for each county agency and commissioner, to communicate issues of import and encourage participation.3
  • Eliminate the FOIA requirement to view most public information. There is no benefit to requiring our citizens to invoke the Freedom of Information Act in order to get a copy of public information. The use of FOIA increases the workload for county employees, slows the flow of information, and intimidates many citizens. As such, it is a barrier to our democracy. Because the release of certain information may be considered hazardous to public safety, the use of FOIA will probably not be fully eliminated. Therefore, information about FOIA and a sample request form should be provided on the county website.
  • Reduce the charge for copies of public information. In addition to recovering labor and material costs, a public entity may also include a charge for fringe benefits paid to employees.4 In Shiawassee, copies of public information cost $.31 per page. Our government should not be in the business of selling public information for a profit. This is an especially egregious practice in consideration of the fact that the information is not available through any other method, such as the website.
  • County meetings should be held in the evenings, and broadcast on public access channels or webcast through the county website. It is unreasonable for many working people to attend a meeting held during business hours on a weekday. Holding the meetings in the early evening will allow more residents to attend. The convenience of the participants should not be the primary consideration when scheduling meetings.
  • County employees must be thoroughly trained in the Michigan Open Meetings and Open Records Regulations and they must be held accountable for adhering to these regulations. They must also be engaged in educating our citizens regarding their rights under such regulations.
  • Encourage annual compliancy audits by the local media, to ensure that citizens have access to information.
  • Invest in a county level marketing campaign, designed to educate residents in their rights and responsibilities regarding participation in local government. Local newspapers and radio should be involved in this campaign.
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    Next time: Government Transformation — eGovernment and Modernization

    2. Jackson County has a good example of an information based site: http://www.co.jackson.mi.us/
    3. Maui County, HI, has one of the best examples I’ve seen of effective use of opt-in mailing lists: See “E-Mail Subscriptions” at http://www.mauicounty.gov
    4. Opinion No. 7017, State of Michigan Attorney General, http://www.ag.state.mi.us/opinion/datafiles/1990s/op10086.htm

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