By Mike McNees, City Manager, Marco Island
“The FCCMA Podcast” series has revealed a virtual treasure trove of individual nuggets of insight, history, wisdom, and hard-earned experience in our field. Moderator Steve Vancore has reached into the collective experience of nearly 100 professionals (as of this writing) and documented what amounts to an amazing oral history for our organization.
Steve has asked quite a few of his interview subjects some version of this question: “What would you tell managers from other states who are coming to work in Florida for the first time – what do they need to know first?” In contrast to the level of diversity of opinion and perspective the podcasts typically represent, the answer to this question has been nearly universal – “I would tell them about our Sunshine Laws!”
The follow-up to this answer quite often encompasses some level of lamentation about the cumbersome nature of Florida’s open meetings law and the intrusiveness of Florida public records law. We city and county managers may love our Sunshine State, but it’s fair to say that as a group we’re less enamored with our “Government in the Sunshine” manual. Is there a manager anywhere in Florida that hasn’t heard this lament from a newly-elected council member, or who hasn’t at some point joined the chorus right along with them?
Consider then another point of view. What if rather than treat these mandates as inconveniences, we use them as building blocks to support a value system that truly embraces transparency, and by extension transparency’s first cousin, accountability? It is reasonable to argue that an organization with a high commitment to transparency not only inspires the trust of its constituents but is held in higher esteem by them as well. In fact, in the private sector many have argued exactly that.
Business literature is rife with articles enumerating the value of transparency and accountability to business leaders. Many of these go so far as to tie higher transparency to higher share values for some companies. No less an authority than Forbes magazine in 2021 published an article advising business leaders how to be more effective at transparency*.
While a corporation can put a number on such things as the value of a share of stock, in our public sector environment how do we put a value on the preservation of the public trust? Once we’ve lost it or put it in jeopardy, what would it be worth to your organization to get it back? Over the long haul, the preservation of that public trust is best served by not only following the letter of the “Sunshine Laws” but by living the spirit of them as well.
Like anything, transparency has its limits. In the same way even the most ardent free speech advocates don’t want you to scream “fire!” in a crowded theater, there are limits also to what can be or should be made public, or what meetings should be open to the public. Florida law recognizes such limits.
Ultimately, resistance to real transparency is often driven by the fear of some adverse consequences that may be triggered by disclosure. In that context, fear is a poor motivator. As Sir Winston Churchill said, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” If you’re standing firmly in your principles, you can weather the consequences of disclosure. If you believe you can’t, failure to disclose only makes matters worse, a lesson well learned as former President Richard Nixon’s final term of office came to an end. Chances are both you and your organization have already endured far worse and survived.
As a group, we managers love to talk about what we do – Mr. Vancore has certainly tapped into that dynamic with great success. With the courage of our convictions we can also face the music when issues arise we wish we didn’t have to talk about. While they may not always appreciate bad news, our citizens will respect us for looking them in the eye and telling them the truth. Wouldn’t you?
*Forbes Magazine, “How To Be More Effective At Transparency: Four Actions Every Leader Can Take”, February, 2021
