Cloudy with a chance of non-disclosure
As the calendar turns from March, a month that includes a week in which the public is educated on the importance of disclosure among our elected leaders, it’s fitting that it is cloudy and gray in Macomb County.
In a state widely recognized as one of the worst for disclosure in the union, Macomb County is showing signs that it appears to be trending toward the not so envious precedent set by state leaders.
Sunshine Week, which was March 10-16, coincides with founding father James Madison’s birthday and the National Freedom of Information Day on March 16, with the purpose of educating the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy.
One of the worst examples of this is in Warren, where ironically the city’s new mayor attended an undergraduate college named after Madison. Lori Stone, a graduate of Michigan State University’s public policy school, James Madison College, has implemented a gag order on most of the hundreds of employees who work for the city.
The Macomb Daily reported on her edict earlier this month. Some of the social media response we received was interesting, especially comments from folks who pointed out they have or had the same edicts in their workplace. I’d be curious to know if any of these people work in the public sector with public funds? Not to mention the implications for potential whistle blowers in a city that has dealt with numerous scandals in recent years is huge.
A six-page media policy initiated by her office states only Mayor Stone, Chief of Staff Kristina Lodovisi, Communications Director Clarissa Cayton, Fire Commissioner Wilbert “Skip”
McAdams and interim Police Commissioner Charles Rushton are “authorized spokespersons” for the city.
Stone could have easily left herself off that list because she does not reply to media anyway. If you don’t believe this editor, just ask journalists from the various other media outlets that do business in this town. When The Macomb Daily has made inquiries of the mayor, we have been asked to put them in writing. And when we have refused to give her office time to refine and process their answers, we have most often gotten no response.
Before being elected mayor, Stone served as a state rep. My guess is that’s where she got this unresponsive, top-down view of accountability. Our state government remains at the bottom for openness among the 50 states. The Center for Public Integrity gave the Great Lakes State an “F” grade in 2015. And, in 2020, it ranked Michigan 47th out of 50 for anti-corruption measures for public officials.
Those grades were assigned as Republicans held the majority in both chambers while transitioning from a GOP to Democrat in the governor’s office. We are one of two states — Idaho is the other — where both the governor and legislature are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
As Democrats have taken over the keys to Lansing, nothing has changed. The issue is finally getting a bipartisan look as a Senate oversight committee has taken up the matter. Here’s hoping something finally gets serious consideration.
The darkness in Macomb is not limited to its largest city. Last fall, one of its smallest school districts, Richmond, had a back and forth with The Macomb Daily and its sister weekly, The Voice Newspapers, over the district’s unwillingness to provide packets from school board meetings until after the meeting had been held.
Lawyers from both sides exchanged letters and Richmond schools Superintendent Brian Walmsley, acting on behalf of his employer, the school board, denied a request to get this information into the hands of reporters before regular board business meetings. Nearly every governmental body we cover in Macomb, from school boards to the county commission, provides a board packet in advance. In considering his unusual denial, lawyers for the newspapers concluded because of the vagueness of Michigan’s FOIA law, any court action would be a coin flip likely based on the interpretation of the judge hearing the matter.
The outcome of this means the public does not get an advance look at issues that will be considered or have full and complete information at the time decision makers meet to set policy on district matters. In a school system with a history of labor strife that, among other factors has conservatively cost it well over $1 million per year in state foundation grant funding due to parents sending their children to neighboring Armada Area Schools and others, it is important residents have a complete understanding of deliberations.
Whenever we shine a light on these matters, the goal is not simply to make our jobs easier. It is to ensure readers have the most complete information possible. Whether we are covering matters that impact you at your local school board, city council or in Lansing, our role as the Fourth Estate is of paramount importance to us.