Editorial: Media not alone in questioning Aspinwall’s media policy
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There is a difference between your mom’s house rules and your government’s requirements.
A parent can make things up on the fly, improvising without worrying about any kind of appeal. Question the decree and you risk running into the insurmountable endgame response: “Because I said so, that’s why!”
Government certainly has more power. Your mom can’t levy taxes. But government also has to deal with a different kind of restriction — process.
A government agency cannot just act arbitrarily. It cannot make the rules up as it goes along because of the need to show fairness. It has to allow the people to be a part of the decisions, with the opportunity to raise concerns or recommend changes along the way.
With an ordinance, for example, the process requires discussion in open meetings. It requires advertisement of the new rules — as well as for those meetings.
Policies might not have the same hurdles, but they still are usually openly debated. That happens because government doesn’t get to just go in a room, close the door and make decisions in the dark. With very few exceptions, the people can’t be locked out.
And yet Aspinwall tried. Borough Council President Tim McLaughlin and Manager Melissa O’Malley revealed a media policy in July that any questions be submitted to both of them; they would decide if anyone else should be included. With police matters, the same process would be followed, but with O’Malley and Mayor Joe Noro.
The problems with this process were quickly highlighted when a car theft prompted a public safety question and no one could answer it because of vacations.
Aspinwall residents questioned the policy at an October workshop meeting. Why was this policy not something that was discussed and debated openly? Why wasn’t it up for a vote? It wasn’t even that people necessarily opposed having a policy. They just questioned how it was done.
“I respect that you’re doing that, but I think a lot more people would be a lot more comfortable if it’s like any other policy that the borough has,” resident Steve Kochanowski said.
The questions and answers collided with previous statements, like when McLaughlin said the policy had been reviewed by other council members before release. In August, however, O’Malley said there always has been a policy, “albeit not officially released to anyone.”
McLaughlin told a resident emails that didn’t copy himself and O’Malley would not be disregarded, although, the policy states, “We will not address any email sent to just one of us.”
This is the problem with not following a process. In going through the steps, a policy avoids pitfalls of inconsistency and complications with things like, oh, the First Amendment.
It’s the kind of thing your mom can do because she isn’t answerable to anyone. Government sometimes forgets that it is answerable to everyone.