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March 12, 2004Gag order would limit public's right to knowKalkaska County residents probably think that what goes on in their sheriff's department with their tax money is their business.They elect the sheriff, and their taxes pay the salaries of the deputies, dispatchers, jail guards and clerks. Those people work for them. They may be surprised, then, to find that some of those employees don't think the public has a right to know what goes on inside the department after all. Attorneys hired to defend the county in a civil suit filed by a former dispatcher have asked the court to issue a gag order that would bar the public and media from reviewing depositions in the suit. They also want the lid slammed on information the department must turn over to her attorneys. So much for the public's right to know. A county attorney claimed the proposed order was simply to protect personal information about county employees who aren't named in the suit. In fact, the order is much, much broader than that. But that's just a "precaution," he said. Right. If anything, the order supports the contention that the county simply doesn't want the public to know what went on behind the scenes with its 911 funds. Former dispatcher Margaret Bull raised questions last year about how the county's 911 central dispatch center was staffed and how $400,000 in 911 surcharge money was spent. The county's response was to fire her, and now she's suing. In the interests of full disclosure, the Record-Eagle has filed a motion to intervene to oppose the gag order. A hearing that was to be held March 2 was delayed until April 5 after the Record-Eagle motion was filed. While Kalkaska's effort to put a lid on the 911 suit is unusual in its scope, what isn't unusual is public officials trying to keep public business private. More and more, it seems, elected officials are trying to limit access to public business. Attempts to circumvent the state's Open Meetings Act are rampant. Whether they make distorted claims of attorney-client privilege or use of subcommittees to do public business behind closed doors, the trend is clear - they don't want the public to see what they're doing. In the Kalkaska case, the attorney hired by the county sniffed that even implying that the county has something to hide is a "distortion" of the facts. The fact is, this is public business being conducted by people on the public payroll. And the public has a right to know.
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