The brouhaha over the Town of Christiansburg brushing off Freedom of Information Act (
FOIA) requirements goes beyond having access to public records.
It is tied directly to when and how notice for public meetings is provided.
As an example, the county Board of Supervisors meets on alternating Mondays, and their published agenda goes out to the public the preceding Thursday. Another example is the county public school system. Their meetings are on alternating Tuedays (always the same night as the Town of Christiansburg's council meetings). The school board's agenda goes out the preceding Friday.
Not so with Christiansburg.
In both these examples, you have five (5) calendar days or three (3) business days between public notification and the public meeting. Further, as regards the budget, our neighboring government publish budgets in detail online (and has been done for years). A summary budget is published in both local newspapers.
Not so with Christiansburg.
The town's council appointed Planning Commission doesn't have a set schedule for meeting, nor does it publish its agenda much in advance. Public notices required due to that committee's actions will vary on where or when it can be found -- these publications are not done on a set date nor at a consistent source. Yet this public body determines how property is used and whether variances conform to its Comprehensive Plan (another series to write about, alone). Several recent hearings brought out citizens who only knew about zoning changes due to a sign being posted on the property -- in the past, more notification was given to a broader number of residents.
Then, if a citizen has a concern about action the council has taken -- AFTER THE FACT (because they didn't know a meeting was being held or what was on the agenda) -- the citizen will need to submit a formal FOIA request and pony up any fees the town wants to charge for giving out this information.
This law also requires that elected or appointed officials are given FOIA information annually or when assuming office.
To see more about Virginia's FOIA laws, see
www.depotdazed.com and check out all the links to the applicable state code.
This avoidance, and the reasons or justifications behind it, should be questioned. And answered. No need to wait for council's training to occur this summer --
Christiansburg should begin adhering to FOIA requirements today.