Sometimes it is hard to tell whether town officials are overwhelmed, or if they are dragging their feet on things they don't want to do, or just comfortably shuffling along. Conversely, maybe everything is perfectly fine as it is now, just as it has always been.
This year, we've seen the Town of Christiansburg begin to post public meeting notices -- first on a single bulletin board, on a landing and behind a tall potted plant, and now (at the insistence of several council members) moved to the entrance of Town Hall. This seems logical as more of the public will be walking directly past the bulletin board than in the past. If the Rec Department can tell you how many daily visitors they have, it seems Town Hall would have a good idea of how many folks come there each day, too, who will now have a better opportunity to be aware of "when" and "where" public meetings are being held.
Moving the board doesn't mean those public notices are visible from outside of Town Hall, too, if one peers into a locked building. Statistically, and giving consideration to today's 24/7 society where people work non-traditional hours or multiple jobs, Town Hall is only open 25% of the time, maintaining so-called bankers hours. So a second go-round ensured an outside board would happen soon, also.
Because town officials got busted for not providing timely notice (VDoT and Nutter meeting on Peppers Ferry road funding, annual budget preparation as examples) of all public meetings, a
review of FOIA was provided this June for sitting council members, key administrators, and new council members elected in May but waiting for Sept. 1 so they could assume office (four months later).
What is interesting is there still seems to be
gray areas casting some shadows of doubt on how FOIA is to be interpreted and applied. This is somewhat surprising given the Mayor's assertion that "
whenever a new member joined council, they were introduced to FOIA through Virginia Municipal League and town orientation programs. This information was again provided annually by the town's attorney, as required by FOIA laws.
Christiansburg leaders never intentionally, deliberately or blatantly defied FOIA laws. He stressed that citizens should trust that town administration and council insists on having open government, as to the the letter and intent of FOIA."So visitors who come to Town Hall on a regular basis may have an idea or "where" and "when" public meetings are being held, they still don't generally know "what" business was addressed until immediately before council meetings, or after it's a done deal and reading about it somewhere, maybe. Adopting an agenda is the first order of business in any public meeting -- these can be revised right then and there, depending on whether someone is absent, staff hasn't gotten all the necessary information together, or even if a large angry mob were to be present and so it wouldn't be prudent for the matter to go forward right then, or any other reason.
Not providing an agenda a minimum of three business days beforehand is something which falls into that gray area, and therefore into the shadows. The long awaited upgraded town website may provide assistance in making more public information both timely and public.
This becomes an issue again with
longstanding liaison meetings, where the county and town and neighboring Blacksburg leaders get together for informal sessions and relationship building. When
additional members of Christiansburg's town government also attend, rather than only the top administrative officer and mayor, it moves from informal to formal under FOIA requirements. It also sets up a dual information and access system because non-attending council members are not kept abreast of conversations or topics discussed. Historically, the county and Blacksburg and even the school board have held these "back burner" discussions, but by limiting them to two representatives
avoid the need to announce meeting times or locations.
In addition to establishing regular meeting times, dates, and locations, yet another item is how appointments by council are made. These actions by elected officials are separate and distinct from
employment matters, and therefore do not fall under FOIA's allowing (
but not requiring) closed meetings. When this approach is taken, it is fair for voters to ask why, as well as what is being said. In Christiansburg, this is something that will be coming up again soon as regards an appointment to the Planning Commission.
Another area for improvement is the town's
budget process. The fiscal year for all local governments is July 1 through June 30, aligned with the state's process and funding cycles. The format for budget information is prescribed by law, and includes previous years budget/actual as well as year to date (YTD) expenditures shown with anticipated expenses and what was actually budgeted. From there, projections about future revenues and expenses are added for the upcoming budget year. This considers any real or possible changes to estimated revenue sources, the costs for maintaining existing services at current cost levels, and any new spending or revenue sources. Anticipated surpluses (rollover funds) or expenses that won't come due until the next budget year, and debt service additions or reductions should be clearly denoted as well.
All other local governments, and the state, begin this process before the end of the calendar year -- even if it is only to define key dates in the process, including days the required Public Hearings will be held. Just this year, we saw Christiansburg scrambling to comply with making these work sessions known and open to the public. An
example of how our town council could improve the budget process can be found at the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors web page. Information was awkwardly formatted and difficult to follow in Christiansburg's budget, without any explanatory footnotes detailing changes. Watching to see if any budget preparation process improvements will be made this coming year will demonstrate whether FOIA's intent is being adhered to, as well as
State Code and
APA requirements. Another indicator of the council's intentions will be to monitor how they engage in a review of when
town elections will be held.
Each of these items could serve as
examples where gray areas could be easily removed, and appear to be opportunities for cultivating a more informed and engaged citizenry. Fortunately, most of these steps can be taken with ease and minimal costs, so the path shouldn't be difficult.