Kudos to Jerry Buchanan, Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission president, for speaking up at last week’s IFPD meeting to say that the board intends to follow the Brown Act to the letter and spirit of the law.
That’s a huge first step toward open government for this agency.
If only two finance committee members would follow his lead. They canceled their TC subscriptions after the Brown Act violation story, evidencing a disinterest in following the laws that specifically apply to local governments and protect the taxpayers from be- hind-door dealings. It’s surprising how many people think our small-town agencies don’t have to follow transparency laws.
As Becky Smith, a Pine Cove Water District employee, said last week in her letter to the editor, you need to take Brown Act training.
A simple Google search of “Brown Act training” turned up a three-part free training video the Los Angeles DA’s office prepared, viewable at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q2AFjOQlbM. It also turned up a free PowerPoint presentation at www.conservation.ca. gov/dlrp/RCD/Pages/RCDResources.aspx, from the California De- partment of Conservation.
You see, many local public agencies throughout the state understand they need to be transparent, so they make sure their public officials have access to information. That makes it inexcusable for our own local representatives not to educate themselves on open government laws.
Again, kudos to Mr. Buchanan.
Becky Clark, Editor
