Our View: Working to maintain a watchful eye

A few months ago, we printed an article about the need for newspapers and journalists to keep their local governments accountable.

That article was published as part of Sunshine Week, a yearly observance by many publications to show the importance of transparency in government, as well as the importance of states’ public information laws.

While most people would dismiss the article’s inclusion as mere space filler, we’ve internally debated what questions people have about their governments and the people they’ve elected to represent.

This week, we’ve shown you the Sweetwater County Commissioners often have group lunches together during the Tuesdays they’re meeting as a board. While this isn’t something the commissioners have tried to hide, as they’ve spoken many times during their meetings about lunch choices, the important thing is to let people know that not only is it happening, but there can be some issues associated with their lunches.

Commissioner Wally Johnson said they don’t talk about county business during their lunches, which so long as they don’t, those lunches aren’t a big deal. However, it isn’t reporters they should be concerned about, it’s the people sitting nearby within earshot of the commissioners.

This is where we need our readers’ help. If someone hears about something potentially business related being discussed, we’re more than happy to talk with them. While we can’t promise every lead will lead to a major story, we’ll look into the claims nonetheless.

The commissioners especially may criticize us for shining light on their lunches, and that’s fine. The residents of Sweetwater County should know their elected officials are meeting for lunches outside of their regular scheduled meetings, even if they’re chatting informally during their break. If county residents have an issue with those lunches, we would recommend and encourage them to speak with the commissioners directly during the public comments portion of their meetings, which is generally scheduled at 9:30 a.m., or send them an email. We’re also more than willing to run any letters to the editor sent to us regarding our readers views about the commissioners’ lunches.

We have a few more stories we’re working on we hope will shine a useful light into our local governments. After all, the job of a newspaper is to keep a watchful eye on government, not just regurgitate the comments and actions of the local officials it covers.