President's Corner

Alan J. Bojorquez

In the course of my duties as a legal advisor for Texas cities, I am most often consulted regarding the mandates and restrictions of the Open Meetings Act and the Public Information Act. If you have dealt with these statutes, you know that they are often so complicated and confusing that even experienced attorneys disagree in their interpretations. Many elected officials and public administrators wrestle with these laws daily because they directly impact the means by which we conduct public business.

In the press, public servants are often characterized as opponents of democracy who shroud the workings of government in a cloak of secrecy. How many ASPA members consider themselves opponents of democracy? Occasional abuses may occur. Some administrators are reluctant to provide documents because they are suspicious of the requestor's motives and fearful that the information will somehow be used against them and their agencies. Although irrelevant under the law, that fear and distrust is not wholly unfounded considering the prevalence of anti-government sentiment these days.

On the whole, most government employees treat the processing and distribution of information in the same manner as they would any other aspect of their jobs. They understand that conducting open meetings and disclosing data is an important part of the democratic system. For public involvement to be meaningful, the public must have access to information and the decision-making process.

However, public servants are painfully aware that there are civil and criminal penalties for disclosing otherwise confidential or private information, even by mistake. They also know that the public's interest is not served when the government tips its hand during negotiations through the inadvertent disclosure of the government's bargaining position.

As public administrators, many of us have been directly subjected to the pressures of privatization and the public's desire that government operate more like a business. How many corporate boards of directors hold all meetings in public? How frequently are board members briefed about bad news for the first time in front of television cameras? Without discussing whether the corporate model should be our goal, I suggest that the spirit of openness that is inherent in our democratic system often hinders the government's ability to function like a business.

As professionals in the field of public administration, ASPA members strive to uphold democratic values. We believe that an educated, innovative bureaucracy is integral to the system and serves the public's interests. We support the principles of open government and we strive to implement the laws to the best of our professional abilities. Being on the government payroll neither denies us our status as citizens nor robs us of our democratic values. In fact, I think it enhances both.