Group says printed public notices give residents better insight

Felicia Frazar The Seguin Gazette

The Seguin Gazette
Dalondo Moultrie
Sept 24, 2022

A leader of a statewide watch group cautioned Seguin residents against sullying city government’s transparency requirements as voters prepare to vote on certain issues in November.

A quartet of ballot amendment proposals on the upcoming ballot contain language that potentially removes city requirements to publish announcement of some city business in the local newspaper of record. Such steps to diminish the amount of information and ways government gets it to its citizenry is backward, said Kelly Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

“You always want to add sources of information, not subtract. So you put it in the newspaper and you can put it on your website,” she said generally speaking of how governments should approach dissemination of information. “Don’t start subtracting sources of information. You want to reach as many people as possible so the public knows what their government is doing.”

At least four propositions deal with how the city notifies residents about important issues. Propositions C, G, I and J are concerned with rules requiring the city to publish information in the local newspaper. The propositions ask if voters want to get rid of the requirement and allow postings on the city’s website, social media accounts and other less-concrete choices.

The Freedom of Information Foundation is a nonprofit organization that has been around since 1978 advocating for the public’s right to know, Shannon said. The foundation thinks the public has the right to know all about government actions and it advocates for citizens’ First Amendment rights, she said.

Shannon said she’s no lawyer, but lawyers at the foundation advise her that laws remain in place requiring government entities to publish in newspapers things like proposed amendments, budget hearing announcements and more.

“Really the key is yeah, sure, they could put it on their website. That’s fine, good for them,” she said. “But if they’re trying to take it away from a newspaper, which is an important source of information for many people, that’s subtracting information from the marketplace.”

Government operates in answer to the public it serves, Shannon said. Transparency in those operations are key to a successful society, she said.

Also, newspaper readership is known to engage members of the public in participating in their own governance, Shannon said.

“I think there are stats but I’m saying anecdotally, lots of people who read newspapers and search out legitimate news sources, they are very engaged with their community and their government,” she said. “You want citizens to be very vigilant and looking out for what their government is doing. That’s what democracy is all about.

“If governments are trying to hide information, it raises a very important question and it’s a problem.”