Reject Senate File 17: 'If it ain't broke...'

In case you’re unawares, this past Thursday the Wyoming Senate committee advanced Senate File 17, a bill that calls for removing some of the public notices that local governments are required to publish in newspapers.

Instead, the bill calls for making cities and counties to provide said information on websites. It has the support of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association (WCCA), as well as the Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM).

The argument is that this is a way for local governments to save on publishing costs amid ongoing budget crunches, to which we say, “Hogwash,” — even though towns and counties would instead have to keep the information on their official websites.

Money is not the issue here. Even by his own admittance, Jerimiah Rieman, the executive director of WCCA, counties pay roughly $400,000. That accounts for less than 1% to 2% of many county budgets. In comparison to what is often spent, that 1%-2% is a mere pittance.

No, the issue here is the age-old one: Transparency; that, and the attitude that those in seats of power in government know better than their constituents what’s best for them. In other words, they have forgotten they are servants of the people, not the other way ‘round.

Put plain and simple, this is the fox guarding the hen house.

All of us know that institutions and businesses are susceptible to corruption, to malfeasance (and yes, that also includes the mass media), but nowhere is it as prevalent as it is in government.

Many are the times those in positions of power or authority have betrayed the public trust. Those who are weak-willed all too often succumb to the “low hanging fruit.”

This is not saying all politicians are corrupt, and is contradiction to the 19th Century expression by Lord Acton, “That power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely.” There are many office holders who hew true to the oaths taken when installed.

Still for those who don’t, the fact is, like cockroaches, the minute you shine a light, they scatter hither and yon. They might not be embezzling money, as has been discovered time and again, but they definitely don’t want certain things known, for whatever reason they might have. So they will bury things, or slow walk their publication. Whatever method they can to employ to obfuscate, they will.

Try it sometime. Go online to many government websites, and good luck. It’s next to impossible, quite often, to navigate these sites, to find specifically what you are seeking. Now, compare that to the experience of seeking public notices in the newspaper. It’s no secret where these are placed.

As one example was given at the hearing Thursday, by Matt Adelman, publisher of the Douglas Budget and Glenrock Independent demonstrated “…he heard from a woman last week who learned from a couple of friends that her name was in the public notices, and she wanted to get hold of that information.” Adelman helped her, allowing her to find that notice.

“Her point was the newspaper was the one spot she knew to call to find public information on a public notice,” said Adelman.

Now, is there going to be a financial impact to newspapers if this measure is enacted? Of course, but that’s not the issue here. It’s the impact it will have on the general population. That means you, John and Jane Q. Citizen.

Arguments such as those promoted by Chris Merrill, executive director of the Equality State Policy Center, in which he claims the current law puts local governments on notice that it is incumbent upon the to provide the public with basic information, buttresses our position.

“I believe the existing law is better … because it doesn’t ask regular people to be journalists, and it doesn’t require them to figure out how and where to find this important information,” Merrill was quoted as saying.

Remember, this is your tax dollars at work, and you have the right to know, in as open a fashion as possible — which is often only through newspapers — what your town or city or county or state government is doing.

Also remember, this is the historical way public notices have been done, for years, decades, centuries on end.

As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Senate File 17 could be heard by the Senate on March 1 when the legislature meets for its in-person session. Write your legislators to reject the bill.

- From the Feb. 7 Laramie Boomerang