10.30.07
Open Government in Williamson County
(LTE, by OMA Complainant MaryEllen Kersch regarding the latest moves on meeting procedures by the WCCC.)
Within days after Williamson County D. A. John Bradley declared “unworthy of criminal charges†a complaint filed on the Williamson County Commissioners Court for violating the Texas Open Meetings Act, county judge Dan Gattis posted an agenda item to institute rules for citizens wishing to address that body. The emphasis was less than in the spirit of the Act, proposing measures that seem designed to protect the officials from having to listen to things they prefer not to hear. First, Gattis declares the WCCC has “judicial†powers, then asserts the right to issue “Contempt of Court Citations†for citizens’ violations, including:
1) A dress code requiring: “…attire suitable for professional or business engagements.â€
2) “Neither is it the intention of the Court to allow (citizens) to insult the honesty and/or integrity of the Court…or other public officials,†and prohibits “..insulting …language directed toward the Court….â€
Arbitrary rules favoring those in power are not conducive to open government, or good government.
This will happen today as the WCCC takes up agenda item #25 [.PDF] – Discuss and take appropriate action on Williamson County Commissioners Court Rules of Procedure, Conduct, and Decorum. This was reported by EOW late last week from an RRL article that made it seem like this came up because of people who dress bad, say bad things about commissioners, and citizens who “rant and rave”. The article didn’t mention that a formal compliant had been filed against the WCCC which is what made this an issue to begin with.
In an attempt to shift the blame, so to speak, from their disregard of open meeting requirements, the WCCC has decided to put an item on the agenda that’s a minor problem at the most, in hopes that people won’t notice their disregard for the OMA. While there are many people that have an issue with the casual dress of modern America, that alone is no excuse, in EOW’s opinion, for not allowing someone to speak.
The bottom line in all of this is to have uniform rules, no matter what they are, so that all citizens know what they are beforehand. The WCCC, and Judge Dan Gattis, Sr. in particular, also need to publicly acknowledge that they’ve been operating outside the guidelines of the OMA and vow to begin following the law.