From:
To: City of Sebastopol; Mary Gourley; Stephen Zollman; Neysa Hinton; Sandra Maurer; Phill Carter Cc:
Subject: public information policy
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2025 10:12:56 AM
Hello City Staff and ElectedsI am distressed to learn about the current status of the public information process and procedures that have been under discussion since December. It appears that, while it might be unintentional, the procedures are both delaying providing information and sometimes preventing the people who know the most about events or decisions from sharing those in a timely way. It also appears to be a cumbersome process.
I have two concerns. First, it appears that the City staff and electeds are taking positions that abridge First Amendment rights from our Bill of Rights.
Secondly, we, the citizens, pay for all our City costs one way or another. ALL taxes, fees, and grants come either directly from the citizens, or are funneled through other sources that are ultimately funded by citizens. Since we pay for all the City does, we deserve to know about those actions unless there is a safety issue, a negotiating issue that will be revealed later, or a right to privacy.
In addition, speaking as someone who worked as a government manager for about 20 years, the City and other governments hire people or firms based on the best people available for the jobs. It empowers them to do their best when they are allowed to report on the work they are managing, knowing that they always need to keep their supervisors informed in a timely manner.
Please consider making our public information easier to access than it appears to be now from appropriate and knowledgeable sources in a timely way.
Gale Brownell