I believe in open government

One of the philosophies that I espoused to the Board of Selectmen upon my arrival in Winsted was my strong belief in open and transparent government. Residents need to be confident that governmental functions and activities are conducted properly and with the best interests of the town in mind. Without that confidence, government deteriorates into an ugly cycle of skepticism and distrust.I openly share much information with the area newspapers, often without prodding or requests. Despite increasing Internet usage, most residents still get the bulk of the local news from a traditional newspaper. I need those three newspapers to have complete and accurate information to share with you. You may have your own opinion of each of the newspapers, but to have three newspapers covering a town of this size is an exceptional opportunity for residents to stay informed.I have worked to develop a close relationship with the local reporters. I have told them that if they want information or documents, to simply ask first, rather than initiate a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request. A variety of legal formalities are triggered by FOI requests, so if I can avoid that burden and just give the information, why make things more complicated? If I do have a reason to withhold the information, I will inform the reporter of the specific reason.Nearly everything that we do at Town Hall is open for inspection or review. My contract with the town is a public record. The union contracts are public records. Various forms of correspondence between officials are public records. Most of what we do is somewhat routine — in all honesty, the daily business of government is not overly exciting, but it can be interesting.Meetings are open to the public, so please, take the time to participate, if possible. I know that the Board of Selectmen meetings have been extensively televised in the past, but a current shortage of volunteers has limited that exposure recently. I hope that the telecast of those meetings can begin again as soon as possible.It has been interesting to learn of the differences between Connecticut and Michigan open meetings requirements. When I interviewed with the Board of Selectmen, my interview was in executive, or closed, session — not open to the public. In Michigan, the interviews of finalists for public executive positions are required to be in open, or public, session. In Connecticut, minutes of closed sessions are not recorded; in Michigan, minutes are taken of closed sessions, but those minutes (which must be approved by the respective board) are sealed and subject to release only by a court order.As part of my philosophy of open government, I admit that we will make mistakes at Town Hall. My goal is to instill in the staff that as long as we learn from those mistakes and prevent recurrence, we are making progress and serving the town better. We should not hide from those mistakes, and I will share the shortcomings and errors with the media as easily as I do our successes and accomplishments.My door is open to any resident for any concern, and I expect the rest of town staff to be as accommodating. I expect town staff to be professional, respectful, and courteous — I expect residents to behave similarly. An important role of town staff should be to help residents understand the workings of town government, to explain the ordinances, the policies, the process, the mandates and requirements imposed by the state and the federal governments.Town government is here to serve you. We may not have the information that you want immediately, but we will do our best to find the information and share it with you in a timely manner. As always, if you have any comments or concerns related to town government, please let me know. Dale Martin is the town manager of Winchester.