Experts in favor of public access
By Jennifer Learn-Andes
Times-Leader Luzerne County Reporter
The public should have access to the inner workings of Luzerne County home rule subcommittees, say three experts on the state’s open meeting law.
Unwarranted closed-door meetings “fracture public trust,” said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the state’s Office of Open Records.
“I think Luzerne County has to have a particular sensitivity to the perception of how its government operates, given the very horrific and sad nature of events that have occurred there in the juvenile justice system,” Mutchler said.
The county’s 11-member home rule transition committee plans to decide next week whether five subcommittees will meet in public or private.
These subcommittees will help draft proposed personnel, ethics and administrative codes, start the recruitment for an appointed manager and other top positions and initiate the search for citizen members of authorities and boards.
The county’s switch to home rule will have a major impact on residents, and the public has a right to witness its development, she said.
There’s a concern that the public will miss dialogue and debate at the subcommittee level and hear a filtered version when subcommittee recommendations are relayed to the committee as a whole, she said.
“If they’ve opened the committee meetings to the public, it’s a natural follow that the subcommittee meetings be open as well,” Mutchler said, noting that her office has no legal jurisdiction over alleged violations of the Sunshine Act governing open meetings.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said the Sunshine Act applies to committees of an agency that render advice, which would include the subcommittees.
“I think the language of the law is pretty clear. I think members of the public who are seeking public access are very legitimate in doing so. I think they have a strong argument,” she said.
The county council that officially implements home rule in January 2012 may choose to accept many or all of the transition committee’s recommendations, and people won’t know the full rationale behind those recommendations if subcommittee meetings are kept private, Melewsky said.
“A lot of detailed discussions happen during subcommittee meetings, a lot of critical discussions,” Melewsky said. “That’s where the policy is being formed.”
Kim de Bourbon, executive director of the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition, questioned why anyone would want the subcommittee meetings closed.
Some committee members have expressed concerns that requirements to schedule and legally advertise meetings could slow down progress.
“Sometimes it’s messy, but that’s the nature of a democracy,” de Bourbon said. “The more secretive they try to be, the more people want to believe bad things about them. They do themselves far more favors by being open and honest with the people.”
Transition committee member Rick Morelli, who supports the opening of subcommittee meetings, sent committee solicitor Jeff Malak an e-mail Thursday asking him to research the law before next week’s meeting.
Malak said Thursday that the committee is free to open the subcommittee meetings, but he cannot determine if it is a legal requirement without further research.
West Wyoming resident Ray Gustave, who has attended almost all home rule meetings since drafting of the charter began, said he’s confident the subcommittee meetings must be legally open to the public.
Gustave has persistently asked the transition committee to declare the subcommittee meetings public, saying he wants to attend. He said he wants to hear the subcommittee deliberation and compare the discussions to what ends up in the final paper recommendations.
“I want to make sure that it’s done right because we’ve had enough corruption in the county at various levels,” Gustave said. “Home rule was billed as a way to end corruption in the county, and I want to make sure that happens to the degree it’s possible with the new form of government.”
Times-Leader Luzerne County Reporter
The public should have access to the inner workings of Luzerne County home rule subcommittees, say three experts on the state’s open meeting law.
Unwarranted closed-door meetings “fracture public trust,” said Terry Mutchler, executive director of the state’s Office of Open Records.
“I think Luzerne County has to have a particular sensitivity to the perception of how its government operates, given the very horrific and sad nature of events that have occurred there in the juvenile justice system,” Mutchler said.
The county’s 11-member home rule transition committee plans to decide next week whether five subcommittees will meet in public or private.
These subcommittees will help draft proposed personnel, ethics and administrative codes, start the recruitment for an appointed manager and other top positions and initiate the search for citizen members of authorities and boards.
The county’s switch to home rule will have a major impact on residents, and the public has a right to witness its development, she said.
There’s a concern that the public will miss dialogue and debate at the subcommittee level and hear a filtered version when subcommittee recommendations are relayed to the committee as a whole, she said.
“If they’ve opened the committee meetings to the public, it’s a natural follow that the subcommittee meetings be open as well,” Mutchler said, noting that her office has no legal jurisdiction over alleged violations of the Sunshine Act governing open meetings.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said the Sunshine Act applies to committees of an agency that render advice, which would include the subcommittees.
“I think the language of the law is pretty clear. I think members of the public who are seeking public access are very legitimate in doing so. I think they have a strong argument,” she said.
The county council that officially implements home rule in January 2012 may choose to accept many or all of the transition committee’s recommendations, and people won’t know the full rationale behind those recommendations if subcommittee meetings are kept private, Melewsky said.
“A lot of detailed discussions happen during subcommittee meetings, a lot of critical discussions,” Melewsky said. “That’s where the policy is being formed.”
Kim de Bourbon, executive director of the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition, questioned why anyone would want the subcommittee meetings closed.
Some committee members have expressed concerns that requirements to schedule and legally advertise meetings could slow down progress.
“Sometimes it’s messy, but that’s the nature of a democracy,” de Bourbon said. “The more secretive they try to be, the more people want to believe bad things about them. They do themselves far more favors by being open and honest with the people.”
Transition committee member Rick Morelli, who supports the opening of subcommittee meetings, sent committee solicitor Jeff Malak an e-mail Thursday asking him to research the law before next week’s meeting.
Malak said Thursday that the committee is free to open the subcommittee meetings, but he cannot determine if it is a legal requirement without further research.
West Wyoming resident Ray Gustave, who has attended almost all home rule meetings since drafting of the charter began, said he’s confident the subcommittee meetings must be legally open to the public.
Gustave has persistently asked the transition committee to declare the subcommittee meetings public, saying he wants to attend. He said he wants to hear the subcommittee deliberation and compare the discussions to what ends up in the final paper recommendations.
“I want to make sure that it’s done right because we’ve had enough corruption in the county at various levels,” Gustave said. “Home rule was billed as a way to end corruption in the county, and I want to make sure that happens to the degree it’s possible with the new form of government.”