Page 3 - Sanger Herald 3-15-18 E-edition

SANGER HERALD 3A THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018 EDITORIAL & OPINION
Random thoughts You have a right to know what they're doing, not just what they say they're doing ...
By Dick Sheppard
An organization chart or as it's more commonly called, org chart, is a diagram that shows a reporting or relationship hierarchy - it shows who reports to whom.
An org chart of our city
government might look something like the one below, created a few years ago by a previous city administration.
There's been some restructuring of staff responsibilities since the chart was created, but the point is still the same, "Citizens of Sanger" should always be at the top of the chart.
The city council reports to us.
We, the citizens of Sanger, pay for the perks of city council members and the salaries and benefits of the city manager and the other city employees.
Members of the city council are our "CitizensofSanger"representatives.They're like members of a board of directors, chosen by voters in their districts, or in the case of the mayor, by all voting residents of Sanger, to represent them when a majority of the council sets policy or gives direction to the city manager.
The city manager is hired by the council to see that efforts of other city employees are focused on accomplishing goals created
by a majority of the council, who are our representatives. The city manager is like the chief executive officer (CEO) of a business that has been formed to do good things for you as a citizen of Sanger.
The city manager and the city attorney work for the council and all the other employees work for the city manager. But, really, they all work for you as a citizen of Sanger.
You are the boss.
You pay their salaries.
They are all your employees.
You have a right to know what your board
and your CEO are up to.
That's why assemblymember Ralph M.
Brown's"BrownAct" wasapproved bythe California legislature in 1953. It guarantees your right to know what your city council and other committees and commissions are doing. They aren't supposed to hold secret meetings and they're supposed to let you know what they're going to talk about in upcoming meetings so you can decide if you want
to attend and chime in on the discussion. They're not supposed to deviate from an agenda that's published ahead of the meeting.
Your right to know is why the California Public Records Act was approved by the state legislature in 1968, a couple of years after the federal Freedom of Information Act was enacted in 1966. The acts give
you the right to look at many internal documents, paper and electronic, created by your employees, people in government who receive perks or salaries paid for by your taxes.
The California Public Records Act, for example, begins with this statement;
"Govt. Code Section 6250. In enacting this chapter, the Legislature, mindful of the right of individuals to privacy, finds and declares that access to information concerning
the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state."
Thekeythingtounderstandand remember, even if government workers tend to forget, is that the government works for you, and you have already paid for the work with your taxes. You have a fundamental right to know exactly what the government is doing.
The right to request information is not limited to media. You, as a private citizen, can write a simple request, spelling out in detail what you want to see under rights given to
you by the California Public Records Act and/ or the Freedom of Information Act.
You're entitled to a response within 10 days, although it might take longer to gather all the material you want - and you can be charged a reasonable fee for the effort and cost that went into collecting and copying it.
SunshineWeekisanationalinitiative spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors to educate the public about the importance of open government and the dan- gers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy.
Every year during Sunshine Week - and quite a few times before and after - the Herald reminds you about your right to know what your government representatives are doing, not just what they say they are doing.
Every one of the city administrations since I became editor at the Herald about a dozen years ago has tried to hide things from the "Citizens of Sanger," things they apparently didn't want us to know or didn't think we needed to know.
The first administration I dealt with was
so in your face it was easy to figure out what to ask for in a California Public Records or a Freedom of Information request.
The current administration, in my opinion, is so good with smoke and mirror illusions that, while it's obvious something is going on with Measure S money it's not easy to figure out how to ask precisely the right question or how to word a request for information in just such a way that it will uncover anything use- ful.
I hope the grand jurors were better able to cut through the smoke screen.
Sometimes persistence is the only solution.
Back about 10 years ago I made a request for a copy of a memo I knew existed, only toreceivearesponsefromthecityattorney at that time, saying, "We don't acknowledge that such a memo exists and even if it did you can't have it."
I submitted about a dozen more requests, all having to do with the relationship between the city and the attorney's law firm and the next day I got a call from the attorney, "Come get your (expletive deleted) memo!"
"The only thing necessary for evil men to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
Comments, complaints and suggestions may be emailed to sangerherald@gmail.com or maybe made by calling 875-2511
Dick Sheppard
In my OPINION
Was that a really good use of taxpayers' money?
By Fred Hall
It's once again that time
oftheyear! Withevery-
thing that goes on during
the month of March we
could be describing a multi-
tudeofevents. Itcouldbe
the changing of the clocks
for Daylight Saving Time;
it could herald the arrival of
Spring; it could be the adjusting our lives for Lent; it could be the opening of the Blossom Trail here in Central California or simply preparation for the crush of tax time from the feds and the State of California.
We believe that of equal importance to all those events is the acknowledgement that thisisNationalSunshineWeek. Eachyear, at this time, The American Society of News Editors drives a campaign which is designed to promote an open and transparent govern- ment.
An observant private sector and a media which is honest in its critical reporting man- date are both necessary elements in guarding against excessive and unnecessary secrecy. Government entities, especially those with access to taxpayer money must be open and called to account for their actions.
Last week's announcement that the State Center Community College District had pur- chased the Guarantee building in downtown Fresno evoked the inevitable question of “why?” Manyissuessuchasthesite,size, location and amount of cash involved all seem to cry out for a more public explana- tion of the decision to spend that amount of money in that particular location.
The original announcement indicated that the purchase price was $10.5 million but did not indicate whether that number included the parking facility next door which the story indicatedwaspurchased aswell. The$10.5 million obviously does not include the interior remodeling of 82,000 sq. ft. which will obvi- ouslyberequiredforsuchadramaticchange of use.
Our only questions would be why that building and why in that particular loca- tion. We all know that no one - particularly students, since sources indicate there will
be classrooms - enjoys the hassle of having togointodowntownFresno. Withtheever soaring costs of a college education, it seems to us that administration should worry less about building a monument to themselves than making sure that students are safe and
Fred Hall
Why?
We welcome guest columns at the Herald
the price of an education remains within the reach of Valley residents.
Also, since this money will apparently come from the recently approved bond mea- sure, we would like some assurances that this purchase represents the very best use of that money. There are a lot of local taxpayers and property owners who are being asked to foot the bill for this “monument” structure and we would rest better knowing that their invest- ment is being maximized.
Keeping in mind that students and prop- erty owners deserve an explanation of why this was the best possible choice, there will be space provided in our newspaper for an appropriate explanation of the proceedings and perceived benefits.
We should not be spending money on expensively paneled and opulently appointed offices by a bunch of educational bureaucrats serving no purpose than that of massaging their egos.
Recently there has been an escalation in concerns about the safety of students. An active local group that calls itself “Advocates for a Better College” has asked, on several occasions, about the lack of a police presence on the campuses of SCCCD. The numbers allocated to the protection of students—which ABC cites--are pitifully low.
We would also be remiss if we failed to comment that the quality of the product which is released into the world and being pronounced as fit and capable for career pursuitisextremelyquestionable. Weoften wonder if the value of a college education is often over-valued in today's world.
But, as always, that's only one man's opin- ion.
In addition to the Sanger Herald, Publisher Fred Hall oversees two other Mid Valley Publishing newspapers - Reedley Exponent, and Dinuba Sentinel. He can be contacted by phone at (559) 638-2244 or by email at fred@ midvalleypublishing.com.
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