Muzzles, please

We’re not averse to dishing out praise to HeraldStandard.com when it’s warranted, so we highly recommend that everyone read Sunday’s editorial, "Troubling – Is communication policy really needed?"
 
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The paper has some real concerns – as should you – with the desire of Fayette County commissioners Al Ambrosini and Vince Zapotosky to funnel official county comment through the county’s chief clerk (who happens to be former HeraldStandard.com county government reporter Amy Revak).

We’ll let the first three paragraphs of the editorial speak for themselves:

World War II veteran Ralph Mazza compares the Fayette County Commissioners’ new communication policy to the Joseph Goebbels propaganda machine back in the Nazi days of the 1940s.

While we think Mazza may be reaching a bit on this comparison, there’s no doubt that the commissioners’ new policy is a bit troubling and could well be the first step on a very slippery slope.

In a 2-1 vote, the commission agreed to update its outside communication policy to have only the three commissioners "make public comments on policy issues or activities involving the county."

(We love Ralph Mazza, by the way. He’s got more moxie than most people half his age.)

On this issue, HeraldStandard.com (perhaps grudgingly) even agrees with Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink, who provided the lone vote against this policy. Zimmerlink has vowed to continue dealing with the media and public on her own, and the paper says it "couldn’t agree more with her stance."

That’s because anyone who has followed government for more than an hour knows that rarely are things unanimous. No one "official" position can cover a dissenting or alternate view – and any elected or appointed official who would abrogate his or her right to speak out on any issue or activity, at any time, is doing the public a tremendous disservice.

More worrisome, though, is the potential chilling effect that such a policy could (and likely will) have on county department heads and other employees. HeraldStandard.com is surely aware that its reporters can learn a lot by talking to those who work in courthouse offices other than the one occupied by the commissioners.

With this new policy in effect, what’s going to happen when Reporter A drops by the office of Department Head B, to get some background on Subject C? Will the reporter be told to funnel his or her request to the chief clerk, so the answers to any questions can be filtered and formulated into the county’s "official" policy?

We’re betting that’s exactly what will happen. This new policy may even make county department heads and employees reluctant to talk to reporters at all. If you worked for the county now, would you want to be the one with a reporter in your office asking questions?

Zapotosky, according to Sunday’s editorial, supports the new policy because, "It keeps the commissioners on the same page as the department head, and that the statement (issued) is formulated not just by the commissioners but also by the department head. And, that everyone is in agreement that it is the position of the county."

Before anyone swallows that philosophical pill, they should be aware of one thing: County department heads are generally much more knowledgeable about the departments that they run, and what goes on in them, than are county commissioners. If a commissioner wants to be on the same page as a department head, can’t he or she pick up the phone, send an email, or ask for a face-to-face meeting?

We would bet that any reporter or member of the public would get a faster, more thorough, more honest and more accurate answer from a department head than from a line of communication running through Revak, Zapotosky and Ambrosini.

A bigger problem, of course, will be who defines "the position of the county." If there is disagreement among the three commissioners, do they draw straws to decide what will be the official position?

If there is disagreement between the commissioners and a department head, does the commissioner point of view trump that of the employee, just because of the hierarchy involved?

The commissioners and department head certainly can’t vote on the matter, because that could be construed as a violation of the Sunshine Law.

Most department heads are acutely aware that the commissioners are their bosses, and as such are likely to be very careful in what they say for publication anyway. We have yet to read a story with the headline, "Department head calls commissioner decision stupid," even though many have probably had that thought through the years.

The Tribune-Review also weighed in on this new communication policy, and they are also among its critics:

http://triblive.com/opinion/2467671-74/fayette-county-takes-tuesday-university-ambrosini-budget-cuts-democrat-districts#axzz24squsIug

We’d like to see someone call around to find out how other counties in the area handle communications, and if they too place such a great emphasis on formulating an "official" county position.

We’re backing the position of HeraldStandard.com, the Tribune-Review and Zimmerlink on this one.