Sunshine Week a reminder of importance of open government
The week of March 10th is Sunshine Week in Pennsylvania. Sunshine Week highlights the fact that “government functions best when it operates in the open”.
The reason government meetings are public is because the public has a right to know and a right to participate in what the government is doing. And while people elect their representatives and delegate decision-making to them the people did not give up an interest in the decisions.
The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, 65 Pa.C.S. 搂搂 701-716, “requires agencies to deliberate and take official action on agency business in an open and public meeting. It requires that meetings have prior notice, and that the public can attend, participate, and comment before an agency takes that official action.”
Agendas are to be timely made available to the public prior to meetings and the items listed are to be clearly written. Minutes of the meetings should be clearly written and made public as well.
The public cannot always attend these meetings but when they do show that means something. It means they are interested in a particular issue. Their interest must not be met with indifference. While at meetings there should be an exchange of information and discussion. Those elected by the people must leave their egos at the door and not take offense when questioned by the public.
People have a right to be heard and information must be available. Without transparency there is no accountability and the road to political corruption widens.
Let us observe Sunshine Week in Pennsylvania and in Fayette County for not just the week of March 10th but every day.
Angela Zimmerlink is a Fayette County Commissioner.