This week is Sunshine Week. It has nothing to do with the weather, despite the warmer temperatures and recent proliferation of sun-seekers in Lake Havasu City. No, Sunshine Week has little to do with actual sunshine, but it has everything to do with illuminating how our government works.
As it stands, Lake Havasu City is pretty good about keeping the public’s business public. Any citizen can go online to review agendas for upcoming meetings, and past actions from meetings that have already occurred. Likewise, various city codes, including the still-being-discussed general plan, are available online for anyone who wants to see them. A better indicator of transparency in local government, perhaps, is law enforcement. In that respect, Havasu often exceeds expectations. The Lake Havasu City Police Department made transparency a priority a long time ago. All police reports are sent to the press in a timely manner, and footage from the video cameras worn by every police officer is made available when requested. There are many other police agencies around the country that wouldn’t even consider being that responsive to requests for public documents.
That said, there’s a troubling trend of local government agencies “circling the wagons” to keep the pesky public from interfering with government processes. The Lake Havasu City Council has held several meetings that have excluded members of the public from participating. Several agencies have hired public information officers to answer media questions and respond to requests from the public, and some have attempted to ban members of the media from having direct contact with administrative staff.
Public accountability is the beauty of our system of government — one that is by the people, of the people, and for the people. The past few years showed us that how important transparent government is, with limited accessibility at public meetings discouraging public participation, and emergency orders allowing government agencies at all levels to make controversial decisions that deserved more oversight from the public.
Sunshine Week is a gentle reminder to local government officials that they are representing constituents that are better served with accurate information at their fingertips.
Celebrate Sunshine Week by exercising your right to public information. Send a records request, attend a meeting, or simply get better acquainted with your local representatives. You can find more information at SunshineWeek.org.
A less gentle reminder, of course, is Election Day.
If the freedom of information is important to you, take it into account when you head to the polls this August and November.
Everybody benefits when politicians and the people they represent work together to keep public information in the public eye.
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