The Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 46: November 13-19, 2019

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Opinion 8 • The Mountain Times • Nov. 13-19, 2019 OP-ED Transparency is part of government’s job By Jay Diaz “The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them,” said Patrick Henry. The Vermont Supreme Court recently affirmed that government officials cannot require Vermonters to pay fees to inspect public records, a common practice that has hindered government oversight at great cost to our communities. The Court’s decision in Doyle v. Burlington Police Department reinforced the principle, enshrined in Vermont’s constitution and laws, that government transparency and accountability are vital to a democratic society. Despite the Court’s ruling, it seems that Vermont government still has a transparency problem. Following the decision, officials in state and local government are already calling for legislation to roll back Without open access to public information, we cannot ensure our government is accountable for malfeasance. the Court’s decision, and Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan has created a new rule imposing fees on anyone who photographs records they are inspecting. These officials argue that responding to record requests is a diversion from their “mission,” and requestors should pay an additional fee for government employee time spent responding to record requests. This response reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of government and how democracy is supposed to work. Facilitating access to government records does not divert from our government’s work, it is our government’s work. As the Founders knew, only an open government is an accountable government – providing access to public records is a part of the government’s job because it enables the people to engage in self-governance and prevents our democracy from withering. Without open access to public information, we cannot ensure our government is accountable for malfeasance, corruption, or violations of our rights. As we have seen, those are costs than can far exceed the minor expense of complying with a public records request. Just last month, the video at the center of the Doyle case was released by VTDigger. It shows police arresting children in order to “send a message” while threatening others with pepper spray. It is another depiction of law enforcement unnecessarily criminalizing black and brown children engaged in common childhood behavior. Countless other videos and documents showing potential civil rights violations have been released in just the last few years. But, too often, exorbitant fees have prevented members of the press, accountability organizations, and individual Vermonters from uncovering records like these – delaying or denying a public reckoning and making necessary reforms much less likely. Records like these should not remain concealed behind a paywall. Government officials may well prefer to avoid the inconvenience or embarrassment of disclosure, but that too is beside the point—these are the public’s Transparency > 9 LETTERS Thanks for teaching the Vermont hunter safety class Dear Editor, I’d like to thank Mr. Kevin Carvey, Mr. Aaron Tinsman, Mr. Rick Hedding and Brian Connaughton for instructing our Vermont Hunter Safety Class this fall in Pittsford. I received multiple praises for the 2019 Hunter Safety Education Class instructors. Earlier this fall, Mr. Nick Markowski and Brenda Wilk contacted Aaron Tinsman to offer this new opportunity for the Pittsford Recreation Department Vermont Hunter Safety Program. The Tom Fiske Memorial Foundation, Inc. (a non-profit) was established a year after the death of Tom Fiske in October of 2000. Tom was an avid hunter and outdoorsman who was killed by the arrow of another hunter. The foundation was established to partner with hunter safety instructors that educate our youth about hunter safety. Upon the graduation of youth age 15 and under, the foundation donates a set number of Lifetime Hunting Licenses. The licenses are awarded by random drawing for the graduates. The main fundraiser for the foundation is our annual Memorial Golf Tournament which is held every August at Neshobe Country Club. August 2020 will be our 20th year. Money is raised from hole sponsorship of $100.00, and 50/50 drawings at the tournament. If anyone is interested in becoming a hole sponsor for our 20th year, please contact Brenda Wilk at 438-5677 next June or July. In 2019, they gave away three Vermont Lifetime Hunting Licenses. The Pittsford Recreation Department’s 2019 recipients of the lifetime permits were Rehanna Alger, Caden Munger and Jacob Whittemore. On behalf of the Town of Pittsford Recreation Department I’d like to thank Rick Hedding, Kevin Carvey, Aaron Tinsman and Brian Connaughton for their hard work and dedication to teaching future generations of hunters to be ethical. And to say thank you to the Pittsford Fire Dept. meeting room and the VT Police Academy’s classroom, outside grounds & shooting range for being available to the instructor’s and students!! Randal S. Adams, Pittsford Recreation Director Vermont must not resell confiscated firearms Dear Editor, I am astounded and horrified to hear that confiscated guns are being sold back into society in Vermont. We have an immediate and serious problem with guns, and the government is selling them! The article in the Oct. 30 Seven Days newspaper states that one of the reasons for these sales is a concern that law enforcement officials will hesitate to confiscate guns from those cited or arrested for domestic abuse because there isn’t anywhere to put them. (This action is possible because of a recently passed law.) In order to make space for confiscated guns to be stored, we are selling guns to gun dealers who could be unwittingly selling them to other people who shouldn’t have them. It just doesn’t make any sense. Our state government should be working to reduce the number of guns out there — not selling them. Just destroy them. I am fed up with the cavalier attitude toward weapons, while children in school are trained in what to do if a shooter shows up. This is unconscionable. Guns kill people. These sales should be stopped immediately. Deborah Young, New Haven By Rick McKee caglecartoons.com Your paper seems left-leaning Dear Editor, As a first time reader, I couldn’t help but notice the deriding of President Trump’s decision to remove troops from the perpetual Syrian/Kurdish/Middle East conflict in the superior op-ed published Nov. 6 while simultaneously lauding Senator Aiken for his call to remove American troops from Vietnam some 50 years ago. Does Does your publication offer only liberal partisan views? your publication offer only liberal partisan views or are you open to conservative commentary as well? It’s become fashionable to hate the president, who admittedly is no stranger to making enemies, but the hypocrisy in opining negatively in regard to President Trump and favorably for one-time Vermont Senator Aiken ostensibly for the same action is confounding. Aaron Warner, Rutland
The Mountain Times • Nov. 13-19, 2019 CAPITOL QUOTES • 9 CAPITOL QUOTES On Veteran’s Day... “As a nation, we have a moral obligation to provide the best quality care to those who put their lives on the line to defend us. Just as planes and tanks and guns are a cost of war, so is taking care of the men and women who we sent off to fight the wars. It includes caring for the spouses and children who have to rebuild their lives after the loss of a loved one. It includes caring for the hundreds of thousands of veterans with multiple amputations or loss of eyesight, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. It includes veterans who are having difficulty keeping jobs in order to pay their bills, and it includes the terrible tragedy of veterans committing suicide.” Said Sen. Bernie Sanders. “For over 200 years, our veterans have answered our nation’s call to protect freedom and liberty here at home and around the world. Their commitment to our values, our people and our way of life serves as the greatest example of what it means to be American. Their courage and sacrifice, their bravery and their duty in service to our country are on display every day, but we set aside today to pause and renew our pledge to do all we can to support them, honor them and to show our gratitude for all they do. On behalf of all Vermonters, I want to thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice.” Said Gov. Phil Scott. COMMENTARIES Impeachment impasse By Leo Pond Republicans in both the House and the Senate have spoken out against the impeachment inquiry. Republicans in both chambers are doing everything in their power to prevent the impeachment inquiry from making any “groundbreaking” discoveries. These Republicans have interrupted a hearing already, setting it back three hours and causing a security issue because they brought their phones with them. Republicans love their president and they are worried if the inquiry finds any “dirt” on President Trump it will make them look bad. Democrats are hoping that if the impeachment investigation doesn’t find enough evidence to impeach that it will be enough to damage President Trump’s reputation so he doesn’t get elected in 2020. Donald Trump has responded to this by calling it a “witch hunt.” Leo Pond is a 13-year-old political columnist. > Transparency: Public does not belong to the public from page 8 records. They belong to each and every Vermonter in the same way that our local parks do. We pay for them collectively and open them to all who individually choose to access them. Charging additional fees to view a government record or use one’s personal device to make a copy is essentially taxing twice. Vermonters are rightly proud of our tradition of direct democracy, and yet because our laws are so antiquated, the Center for Public Integrity gives Vermont an “F” grade in access to public records. The Doyle case is a step in the right direction, but we still have much > Government officials may well prefer to avoid the inconvenience or embarrassment of disclosure... Rutland budget: Mayor hands proposed city budget over to Aldermen. from page 3 The Police Department budget request came in at $6,626,410 or about $600,000 over the 2019/2020 FY. The overall budget is up some 2.9% over last years to $22 million for municipal services. Allaire indicated that part of that is due to Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance rate increases of 9% and pay raises for union contracts. Interviewed in his office on Thursday morning, Nov. 7, Allaire stated that the budget work to do. The ACLU of Vermont and our supporters disagree with any public official who would seek to further impede public access to public records. Vermonters will be watching closely this coming legislative session to see if our lawmakers uphold the core Vermont value of open access to government, and we will work to ensure our records remain, as the Public Records Act says, “free and open.” Jay Diaz is a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont and argued the Doyle case before the Vermont Supreme Court. The overall budget is up some 2.9% over last years to $22 million for municipal services. contained a 1.5% COLA pay increase for nonunion and a 1.5% increase for the Rutland Free Library. The 1.5% also includes a small increase in stipend for the Board of Aldermen. The city pension fund contribution was fully funded with increases suggested by the actuaries. The contribution steps up from $692,223 to $841,781. The city contingency fund was level-funded at $150,000. Allaire stated that he feels comfortable with that number as not much of the fund has been utilized over the past several years. Over at the Rutland City Fire Department, the total budget request was $3,672,539.51 or about $18,000 less than the current budget. The overall municipal budget proposed is $22,086,546.37. There would be an increase to the taxpayers with passage of various social service agency requests for funding. Overall, Allaire stipulates there was a collaborative effort on the part of the city treasurer, department heads and others to contain municipal spending. The budget now rests with the Board of Aldermen, which will send it to various committees to discuss the proposals. Committees may then recommend to the full board to either accept or reduce proposals. While the Aldermen may not increase budget items, they do have the right to make fund transfers if deemed necessary. Once approved by the full board, the budget goes to the voters for ratification on March Town Meeting Day.
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The Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 46: November 13-19, 2019

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