In any democratic government, transparency is key to good governance and enhances trust between the people government serves and the elected officials sworn to represent their constants.
When Gov. Mark Gordon announced his intent to form a financial transparency group, we were happy to see the governor and State Auditor Kristi Racines taking the issue of transparency seriously. We were also excited to see the group include Kristen Czaben, editor of the Sheridan Press, included on the committee as it telegraphs an intent to include journalists in a conversation we’ve long been passionate about.
The state has rightfully been criticized for its lack of transparency. Wyoming received a failing grade last year in government spending transparency by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and received an F grade in transparency from the Center for Public Integrity. The state auditor’s office was subject to a lawsuit filed by Openthebooks.com after the previous auditor, Cynthia Cloud, complied with a request for state spending records, but after charging more than $8,000 in fees and providing the information at a rate the transparency group argued would take 30 years to fulfill.
One would assume the state is poised to improve on its transparency problems, but they would be wrong.
Two bills introduced in the Wyoming House will limit transparency local governments would be required to have when it comes to public notices. House Bill 146 would exempt the names of employees from publication in lists of employee salaries while, HB 201 would give cities and counties the choice of publishing legal notices on their websites.
HB 146 completely negates the goals Gov. Gordon’s transparency group and others who have fought to make those salaries more transparent. The lawsuits against the state auditor’s office show a desire by citizens to know who is doing what for a local government and how much they’re being paid.
With HB 201, while the bill is being sold as a cost saving measure, the reality would be anything but. Throughout the state, local governments have claimed they cannot provide electronic documents for many reasons, including claims the cost is too expensive, too much staff time would be needed and because their data systems cannot handle the task. Local governments would need to hire additional staff and invest in better security for their websites to undertake this task.
Also, proving corruption in government would be much more difficult as corrupt officials could change or destroy documents to hide illegal action.
A private entity, free from government influence, should be the distribution point and repository of public notices, as the Founding Fathers intended. They recognized the need for a public resource free from government influence citizens can use to verify information they receive from the government.
It’s for these reasons and more that we oppose HB 146 and HB 201.
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