The Greensboro City Council currently has a small group meeting policy that requires any meeting of two or more city council persons with any city staff be announced to the public 48 hours in advance, audio recorded and open to the media. Newly elected Mayor Robbie Perkins wants to change that—and not for the better.
There is an item on the agenda for tonight's city council meeting, with Perkins as the primary contact, for the purpose of discussing changes to the small group policy. Documents attached to the agenda (item 32, pp 159 - 162) describe Greensboro's small group policy as being more than North Carolina public meetings law requires and as unique to Greensboro. It's clear the purpose of revisiting the policy is to attempt to weaken or eliminate it.
Greensboro government has a long history, with all too recent manifestations, of cultivating public suspicion by secrecy. The state law may not demand that Greensboro have this small group policy and other cities may not, but so what? When it comes to open government, can Greensboro not stand above the rest of the state? Must we revert to the norm by lowering our standards?
The current policy is a robust plank in support of public trust and an antiseptic against corrosive public suspicion. If it sets Greensboro apart, all the better. It should not be changed.
2 comments:
My recent goodwill toward Perkins is rapidly eroding.
Well, we'll see how far he takes this. Nancy Vaughan points out some good reasons to modify the notification requirement, but that can be achieved while still preserving the other portions of the policy in support of transparency.
If all of the provisions of the policy end up getting scrubbed, it will be a step backwards and away from good governance.
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