Board should let sunshine in on Trumbull County SCOPE

At a time when taxpayers Demand transparency and accountability from governments and other entities that operate with public dollars, it is illogical that an organization designed to serve the needs of senior citizens in Trumbull County would prevent the public from being heard at its board meetings, keep its financial records under wraps and refuse to let citizens read the minutes of meetings.

The organization is SCOPE, which is now in the spotlight because of a front page story in last Sunday’s Vindicator that detailed the difficulties some seniors have had in getting information about how it is managed.

Given that SCOPE received about $1.28 million in 2011 from taxpayers, there should be no debate about full access. The argument that it is a private, nonprofit organization and, therefore, does not have to adhere to Ohio’s open meetings and public records laws may be legally supported, but is short-sighted.

Of the $1.28 million SCOPE received in public funds, $798,288 came from the proceeds of the Trumbull County Seniors levy; $426,734 was from the state, and $64,256 was from the federal government. From 2007 through last year, the agency spent $6.15 million in public funds.

According Atty. David Marburger, one of Ohio’s leading experts in public records and open meetings laws, SCOPE and other entities like it exist primarily to provide services that the government wants to provide, but the employees are not government employees. Thus, while the cost of providing the services may be reduced, there is a high price to be paid in the loss of transparency and accessibility.

As for why the meetings of SCOPE’s board of directors are closed to the public, Atty. Frank Bodor, legal adviser to the organization, said that the members are all volunteers, so every attempt is made to keep the meetings short.

“If you open your meetings to the public, your agenda of an hour, hour and a half becomes convoluted to all afternoon,” Bodor said. “It’s not like a county commission meeting. It’s run like a corporation.”

Convoluted? Consider why The Vindicator decided to turn the spotlight on SCOPE. Two years ago, when SCOPE Cortland moved into a larger facility on North Bank Street, there was only one restroom and it was not handicapped accessible. Senior citizens using the center were inconvenienced to the point that some failed to make it to the bathroom in time.

Financial information

After complaints by Cyndie Hammers, 61, of Southington and others “fell on deaf ears,” the seniors wrote a letter to SCOPE asking for financial information and minutes of recent meetings.

That’s when they learned that Ohio’s public records and open meetings laws don’t apply to the organization. They were also thwarted in their attempts to address a meeting of the board of directors.

Trumbull County commissioners Paul Heltzel, Dan Polivka and Frank Fuda expressed surprise when a Vindicator reporter informed them of the closed-access policy.

Heltzel, who was an assistant county prosecutor, put the issue in its proper perspective:

“Just because of the nature of the business, I think it behooves them to allow access to their board members. It’s not black ops, so I don’t know why they would want to limit that.”

They might also remember that continuation of the senior levy from with they get their funding will eventually face a renewal vote.

We have no doubt that the individuals who volunteer their time to serve the senior citizens of Trumbull County are sincere and well intentioned. But we would remind them that secrecy breeds a suspicion that can easily undermine all the good work that’s being done.

The board should just let the sunshine in.