Don’t give people a reason for suspicion
Last night was the first meeting of the new Warren County Commission which took place in a specially called session.
With almost half of the commissioners serving for the first time (11 of the 24 members are newly elected) the commission definitely has a new look. This is evident in more ways than one.
In addition to having close to a dozen new members, the commission will also be operating under a new system. County Executive Kenneth Rogers has opted not to be chairman of the commission. Instead he will address the commission on a monthly basis as a department head. This move also gives him the power to veto any commission vote he doesn’t like.
It could very well turn out to be a change for the better and only time will determine if Rogers’ decision works best for Warren County.
In his place, Sally Brock was installed as the new chairperson for the commission. She will run regular meetings and any specially called sessions.
For the record, the Standard believes Brock is an excellent choice. She’s open-minded and has always appeared to be one of the commission’s more intelligent members.
What is a bit troubling is how Brock became the front-runner for the chairperson position. It was almost as if, out of the blue, commissioners one day decided she was going to be the one selected.
If that’s the way it seems, that’s because that’s the way it was. Without notifying the newspaper or any other media outlet, around 20 of our county commissioners met secretly to determine who they wanted as chairperson of the Warren County Commission.
Going on the opinion of County Attorney Larry Stanley, the meeting is said to be legal because it included several people who weren’t yet commissioners. Since last night was the first official meeting under their term, commissioners were allowed to meet in secret prior to that meeting, or so the logic goes.
That theory completely ignores the fact there were several incumbent commissioners in the meeting. It also fails to point out that meeting in secret is exactly what gets regular, taxpaying citizens suspicious of government in the first place.
Such a meeting could have easily been held with reporters present and the outcome would have likely been unchanged. The fact reporters were not invited only leads people to draw the natural conclusion that officials were determined to meet privately.
This is not the way government should operate. The newly elected commissioners may not realize this, but the old ones are surely aware of it. Why else would they bother to seek the opinion of the county attorney in the first place if they didn’t think such a meeting was shady? And, in case you were wondering, our attorney, Rick Hollow, completely disagrees with Stanley’s opinion.
We’ve all heard about the good-ole-boy network with back-room meetings that take place without accountability. The people of Warren County deserve better than that. We need to know how government decisions are made and why.
The rules are simple. Conduct government business in the open. It’s hard to make a more reasonable request. In addition to being a request, it’s also a law.
We wish the county’s 11 new commissioners well as they test the waters and feel their way around their new surroundings. And we’re confident the 13 returning commissioners will continue to represent this county to the best of their ability.
Decisions made by the Warren County Commission might not always be popular, but as long as those decisions are made in the open, taxpaying citizens at least have a chance to provide their feedback.