A No Brainer

editorial-logo3Papers were served last week as County Commissioners, as well as EDOC and the Chamber of Commerce, were named as defendants in a recent law suit by fourteen Jefferson County residents. At stake is the ability of EDOC to maintain closed meetings and records. Frankly, this is a law suit that never should have happened. EDOC and the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, which share a building and employees, receive a great deal of money from tax payers. Yet, they maintain that it is their right to refuse to open meetings to the public and to provide open records to the public. I understand, and even support, the idea of local businesses investing in the economic future of their community. EDOC Board was formed from four County and Municipality officials and the four largest private donors to EDOC. There was no election, no process, other than financial contribution, to becoming a member of the Board. And that is fine if the organization is strictly privately funded, but it is not. To date, EDOC has received more than one half a million dollars of County tax payer money and the County has not, yet, met its obligation to EDOC. In addition, the Chamber of Commerce receives around $150,000 of hotel/motel tax money from the County. EDOC Board believes that they have no obligation to the public, however, they willing take, and lobbied for, public money to fund their organization. I would suggest that the public’s $500,000 + investment in EDOC is substantial. I don’t know what it costs to buy a seat on the Board but it should at least buy a seat at the meetings. The Industrial Development Board is charged with identifying property to attract viable industry and businesses. They have a fund balance of around $150,000 total, not an annual contribution, and their meetings and records are open. My first question would be how is EDOC using the funds that it is given from public coffers?And my second question would be why are they hiding? Because there is only one reason that an organization meets in the shadows and buries its records. There is something fundamentally wrong with any organization expecting citizens to fund their activities but refusing to be accountable to those same citizens for their actions and decisions. It is simple, really. If EDOC wants to operate as a private organization, that is not open to public scrutiny, then it needs to give back the citizen’s money.

This suit will be watched closely because it is precedent setting. Regardless of what the courts decide, people know the difference between what is legal and what is right. Public funds belong to the public. Real people work very hard for that money and they deserve respect from those that benefit from their hard work. The public has a moral right to know the path that their dollars travel, the County Commission has a charge to protect the public and the beneficiaries of the citizen’s coin has the responsibility to wisely use their funds. In the court of public opinion, this is a no brainer.

Source: K. Depew, News Director