Is it too much to have people in government return my phone calls?
I mean, wow there’s a big difference between how people in government would call reporters back when I started in this business nearly half a century ago.
By the way, I’m asking questions to write stories to tell the public what their local governments are doing.
I’ve been reporting on governments business for nearly 50 years.
It’s not personal folks, it’s the business of journalism.
Otherwise, I could find an infinite number of things to do with my free time.
In the past few weeks people in four different agencies were called, asked to return those calls and none of them did.
And these folks are not you’re basic peons.
I suppose if they were the chances of getting a return call would have been much better.
But back to my point, I’m not trying to ferret out any top secret stuff or to ask embarrassing questions unless seeking basic information puts some in an awkward situation.
Nah, it’s none of that stuff.
It’s plain old “I can’t be bothered by the newspaper.”
Most public meetings of local governments have a public comments section.
And under current rules established by those who establish government rules and interpret the tea leaves on what is proper protocol, government folks are not to respond to any comments made by the public.
It’s far too complicated for me to explain the wherefores on why that is, just be content to know officialdom can’t respond to public comments.
Moreover, I can’t explain why.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, these public comments sections reveal something akin to why I started this column.
People often get ignored, especially when they call government offices.
Just as I’ve noticed the recent trend of my own incidents of being ignored or perhaps forgotten – same thing – the lack of courtesy in non-existent callbacks or email answering is pretty common.
People will tell elected officials during these public comments sections about how they call public offices with complaints or questions and they’ll end up: calling several times; or get shifted to another department that will do its darndest not to respond; and perhaps you’ll get sent back to the original office that ignored you to begin with.
I do wonder how officials get re-elected or rehired when they don’t respond to the people they serve.
In the meantime, I was twice ignored Monday about different issues.
One burning question I’ve always had about officeholders – particularly those who love executive sessions – exactly whose business are you doing in private?
It’s not your business.
I know, the voters have empowered you to decide who gets answered and what matters are discussed either in private or in such quiet tones no one in the audience can hear in open session.
My favorite is the official who gets way in front of the public in a meeting to talk to elected officials, without providing any information to the press or making their voice loud enough to explain what they’re doing.
One certain official protects their vendors this way.
I’m told if I want to know that super-secret stuff, file an open records request.
Might as well, they won’t return my call anyway.
