The need for government transparency remains crucial during coronavirus crisis

Earlier this week, Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner met by teleconference with the Wichita mayor, local hospital officials and others to talk about options for battling the spread of the coronavirus.

Commissioner Michael O’Donnell wasn’t part of that call, and mentioned during a meeting later that it was because of regulations dictated by the Kansas Open Meetings Act.

“I think the media will be very happy to know that we’ve been very cautious on that,” O’Donnell said, motioning to reporters in the room.

We are.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a slew of new challenges for government officials and agencies, as they grapple with how to conduct business, make decisions and share vital information while following mandated restrictions on public gatherings.

But it’s worth reminding state and local leaders, as the First Amendment Coalition did recently, that the need for government transparency and openness remains crucial in times of crisis.

“Just as the government’s power is at its apex during a crisis,” the coalition said, “the importance of the public’s right to know how their government is wielding that power could not be greater.”

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt recently issued new guidance to public agencies and a reminder to keep meetings open to the public during COVID-19 social distancing limitations.

Schmidt said public bodies should “go the extra mile to ensure their actions are transparent during the time of emergency.”

These days, that means making sure all meetings are announced ahead of time, and that if meetings are conducted by telephone or video conferencing, members of the public are able to listen or observe.

Wichita-area government agencies deserve kudos for live-streaming meetings and uploading them afterward for public viewing, and that practice must continue.

Monday’s special meeting of the Sedgwick County Commission, during which commissioners voted to recommend a stay-at-home order, drew more than 21,200 views on YouTube — about 21,175 more than would attend your average, pre-coronavirus commission meeting. Clearly, Wichita-area residents crave accurate, timely, reliable information and want to see their elected officials at work.

Something to consider: a daily news conference online featuring public officials and specialists with Wichita-area hospitals who could field journalists’ questions. The University of Kansas Health Systems has been doing this successfully for more than a week.

The need for public records continues, too. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has urged government agencies at all levels to “proactively release records and information about COVID-19” and how officials are responding to it, and not wait for journalists to submit formal requests.

Occasionally during times of local or national emergency, people chide media outlets for asking tough questions or challenging leaders. The get-out-of-the-way, just-trust-them approach is understandable — we all hope the folks in charge have our best interests in mind and are doing everything they can to respond to the crisis.

But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures — impromptu meetings, massive expenditures or lockdowns that could violate individual freedoms among them — and news organizations engage in oversight on behalf of the public.

As Kansans hunker down during this unprecedented pandemic, leaders should make sure they’re still operating in the open.

This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 4:11 PM.