Government grows strong when it lets the sunshine in

Warren Mayor Hank Angelo doesn't want the press -- and by extension the public -- to attend city government's budget hearings. His Mushroomness -- mushrooms, which are fungi, thrive in dark, dank places -- seems to believe that discussing sensitive issues such as negotiations in the presence of reporters is bad for government and bad for the city. Talk about living in the dark political ages.
We shouldn't have to remind Angelo that open government has been the subject of legislation and litigation on numerous occasions with the same result: Let the sunshine in.
The mayor has been around for a long time, which makes his contention that budget hearings are "closed work sessions" all the more egregious. Even if his characterization of the hearings on the 2003 budget as work sessions has merit, such sessions still would not qualify under one of the very few exceptions to Ohio's sunshine law.
The Ohio Supreme Court, in the opinions it has rendered not only on open meetings but public records as well, has been unequivocal in its support of the public's right to know. Government officials, be they officeholders or bureaucrats, should not serve as filters when such important matters as the expenditure of taxpayer dollars are being discussed.
Council's participation
Warren Law Director Greg Hicks is to be commended for standing up for the press and the public with regard to the budget hearings. Hicks contends that once members of council were invited by the mayor to participate in the hearings, that threw open City Hall's doors and windows. The mayor argues that since most council members do not attend the sessions, there isn't a quorum. Thus, he has a right to keep the press out. No he doesn't.
To borrow Hicks' inquiry, "If there's a council meeting and you don't get a quorum, does that mean it's not open to the public?" The courts have spoken on this specific issue: There is no such thing as a closed council meeting. The only time lawmakers can get together in private is when they are discussing litigation.
But while we support Hicks' position on the budget hearings, we do not agree with the distinction he makes with regard to members of council being invited. Even if lawmakers are not invited to participate in discussions on departmental budgetary requests, we see no reason why the press and public should be excluded.
What's to hide? Why is the mayor so afraid of the spotlight of public scrutiny?
Given the ongoing federal investigation of government corruption in Trumbull County and the questions that have been raised about projects in the city, you would think that Angelo would welcome the presence of reporters.
Government is messy, but it is not a fungus. It does not need darkness to survive.