Tuesday's Crow Wing County Board discussion, at the committee of the whole meeting, produced alarming comments from a county commissioner who should know better.
Board candidate Jeff Czeczok, who has been a consistent advocate for open government, asked the board to record its committee meetings, just as it does its regular meetings. The committee of the whole is made up of all the commissioners. It's open to the public and no action may be taken. It's designed for board members to learn and discuss issues in-depth. When a quorum is present, the committee of the whole is subject to the same open meeting law requirements as a regular meeting.
Putting Czeczok's request aside, what alarmed us were comments made by Commissioner Paul Koering in relation to committee of the whole meetings.
Here is Koering's comment from Tuesday's meeting.
"Really, I'd prefer the media not be there, because we can talk more freely," Koering said. "I'm not trying to hide anything, but we can talk more freely. If there's three of us together, we can't have a conversation. ... We can't even discuss things and have a freewheeling kind of open conversation while trying to figure out what's best for the county."
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The presence of the news media, in this case a Brainerd Dispatch reporter, may pose an inconvenience to commissioners, but it's one that's certainly worthwhile. Reporters attend such meetings not because they're fun but because most citizens either can't or won't be there. It's our contention that background information on how commissioners arrive at the decisions they reach can be important to the public.
Koering is a political veteran. He's served in the Minnesota Legislature. It's high time the commissioner get over being apprehensive about the presence of the media when elected officials are discussing public policy at an open meeting.
