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| We should be releasing the MAXIMUM amount of information and interpreting the public records law liberally in this instance---not shutting down reports and making them exempt! |
As I now field a variety of calls and messages from concerned relatives of folks in local nursing homes, the lack of transparency is becoming untenable. Folks are concerned.
For the SITREP to suddenly be deemed "unreleasable" is wrong I believe.
I want it released as it was being released before. The citizens, especially during these times of uncertainty and panic, deserve complete transparency. To suddenly say a document is "classified" is wrong. This will sow angst, anger, mistrust, and fear needlessly.
I work for the citizens, the citizens elected me--not an unelected government bureaucrat.
A bureaucrat suddenly "decided" this information from our county's SITREP should not be releasable.
I'm going to request this information be once again made public daily. And the five of us, the elected commissioners, not an unelected bureaucrat, will decide this.
I'm requesting a special meeting, a virtual meeting, of the board of county commissioners, to set this right. Hopefully we can do it over ZOOM and stream it on the County's Facebook page and do it quickly--possibly early next week. Otherwise, we will be waiting until our next meeting scheduled for May 7th---almost a month away!
The public records law is supposed to be interpreted liberally--leaning toward maximum transparency. In this instance, the county's attorney is conservatively interpreting this law. Too conservatively in my opinion. It is wrong, so far as I am concerned.
Threat Assessment??!!?? Really? This virus is a common enemy to all (even our real enemies overseas)--It's not as if we are at war and the enemy is studying our hospital capacity information! We're all fighting this together----and information is critical in this fight. And the citizens deserve this information!
Here is the problem with politics in America right now----at all levels. You have the three co-equal branches, then you have the 4th estate, the press (partisans, everyone knows this) and the most powerful, the fifth branch--the administrative state. Bureaucrats. They outlast those of us that run for and win positions, and they push and pull important decisions they way THEY want them to go. And again, it happens at all levels, and yes, even locally.
But in this new reality we face, this Pandemic that is literally re-shaping the future of our country before our eyes--we as elected representatives of the people must step up and make the decisions about transparency------not unelected, unaccountable administrative employees.
9 comments:
I absolutely agree with your assertions, Jeff. Not releasing that information is already creating an atmosphere of distrust and fear amongst the locals who rely on that information to keep abreast of what's happening right here in OUR county. Regardless of which belief on the pandemic one resides, it is pertinent information to all. Thanks for bringing this forward and hopefully the Board can correct what most will agree is needed, transparency above all else. Commissioner Barry even brought this up in the last meeting. Saying the more information put out the better, even if some of the information was incorrect to avoid exactly what is happening now, citizen lack of faith in local government.
Wow! I am glad you are watching this. I've heard talk of the administrative state, and it makes sense, but at the local level I haven't noticed any of that. But having lived in this community since the 1950s, I have seen a lot of commissioners. Some serve longer than others, but I don't remember any for more than 3 terms. I know county employees that have worked for over 40 years. Seems to reckon that the old-timers do what they want and outlast the elected ones. So the Bureaucrats do have all of the power. Resist their communist zeal to conceal the truth.
Amen brother.
Thank you for having the fortitude and the integrity to speak candidly to this, Commissioner Bergosh. And Michael McCormack, spot on.
Finally a moment of frank assessment concerning the alloyed bureaucracy that has been blocking progress in this County for far too long: the lead walls of the County Attorney's office coupled with two tin-eared County Administrators.
Time to desolder two powerful bureaucratic offices that are
--running combination politics on the Board they are supposed to serve;
--crippling the BOCC with their self-interest and ineptitude; and
--cutting the commissioners off at the gate from their ability to effectively represent the citizens who elected them.
Chairman Barry, Commissioner May, and Commissioner May all voiced a willingness to hold a special meeting if anything important came up.
Well, something important has come up. A few things, actually. But nothing more important that the subject of your blog.
If Chairman Barry agrees to the need for a meeting, perhaps you all could touch on who at the County could step in and handle the Covid-19 crisis for Janice Gilley. Even if she were equipped to handle something of this magnitude--which she is quite apparently not--she should have stepped aside anyway, and let the people with experience in emergency management report directly to the BOCC. She already had her hands full with union busting and pretending to fix our Public Safety when this pandemic reared its head. Let her get back to those ventures full time.
--Melissa Pino
Mark your calendar You and PNJ editorial board agree!!
Surprised Underhill didn't leak it, not really it doesn't jive with his denial due to NPD ego protection denial agenda. Gilley seems to be making deals with her buds.
Good Job on calling attention to this and getting the job done to keep information flowing.
As I wake up on this Easter Morning I see the email traffic pointing to the fact that County Administrative employees have walked back their disastrous decision on Thursday to make our COVID-19 SITREP exempt from release to the public---I am officially notifying administrator Gilley that I am withdrawing my request for a special meeting of the board online next week. It won't be necessary now. Again, I'm glad they walked the bad decision back, and that they will once again make this a public document---as it was before and as it should continue to be going forward. I am glad that my blog post on this topic from 5:30 AM Friday morning generated the firestorm of media interest it did on WEAR, NorthEscambia, and even the PNJ's editorial agreeing with me they published two days later on Saturday Morning---all of which I believe contributed to the administrator's good decision to reverse course on a very bad call they made in haste.....Thanks to William at North Escambia and Chorus Nylander at WEAR for recognizing the importance of this matter Friday and joining me in my call for this report to be released!!! Happy Easter Everyone!
Happy Easter. It is going to be hard when the reality sets in that Covid19 is running through the facilities though. The blaming will start when really it is mostly just a sad reality. So will families try to bring loved ones home to care for them and possibly expose themselves? Will staff stay and work? Have they been isolated and transported to hospitals.
Like Scarlett says-- tomorrow is another day.
Thank you for your leadership, as hard as it is, the truth needs to be told.
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