by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“You’re here at a very interesting time,” said City Ethics Officer Carla Miller as she conducted a seminar on open government and transparency Monday in the mayor’s office conference room.
It was similar to presentations she’s given many times in the past, especially recently with the Grand Jury investigation surrounding ethics violations by City officials.
But what made this presentation unique was her audience: a delegation of 11 administrators, managers and planners from 10 countries in Africa. The group included a sitting member of Mali’s Parliament joined by representatives from Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania.
The delegates are here as part of a U.S. State Department exchange program. The program is facilitated locally by the International Visitor Corps Jacksonville. After six days of meetings and seminars on open government in Washington, D.C., the group is spending this week in Jacksonville then traveling on to Austin, New Orleans and Seattle for similar sessions before they return to their home countries.
While in Jacksonville, in addition to meeting Miller and City Council members, they will tour the Center for Professional Ethics at the University of North Florida and visit the Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI).
During her session, Miller went through Jacksonville’s protocols involving several ethical subjects, including having a published code of ethics, an ethics commission and Ethics Officer to develop more standards over time.
Miller pointed out ethics concerns are not limited to government, and the issue is so important because, “In every large organization, you’re going to have some crooks and crazy people. You have to mobilize the people who aren’t to identify the problems and get rid of them,” she said.
Miller also told the group she believes, “Jacksonville is doing more for transparency in government than any other city in the nation.”
After Miller concluded her presentation, the group moved to the City Council’s conference room where Deputy General Counsel Steve Rohan explained how the State’s Government in the Sunshine Laws and open government works in Jacksonville.
“The laws are strict, but we still manage to get our work done,” he said.
Rohan also explained that the entire system depends on the integrity of officials to abide by the laws.
“Officials are obligated to police themselves. You can’t send police officers to follow Council members because the police are out solving murders,” said Rohan. “Nobody wants to be the subject of a Sunshine law violation case. It’s embarrassing.”
One of the delegates asked if having such strict rules about who can speak to each other and where and when has any chance of creating a “Big Brother” type mentality.
“The public demands this level of openness,” replied Rohan. “The whole idea of the Sunshine law is to prevent back-room deals. Legislation has to be vetted in the public arena.”
Another delegate asked if Rohan thinks the open government policy has actually improved the City’s affairs.
“Yes,” he answered. “It’s the ‘check’ in the checks and balances system. There’s no way to really measure the effectiveness, but it improves the public’s perception. I think most people know about the open government laws but most are too busy making a living to get truly involved in City government. They depend on the open government laws as a way to stay informed. When the people are involved in their government, you see better, less selfish government.”
Abdallah Abubakari works for Ibis West Africa in Ghana, a political organization aimed at securing people equal access to education, influence and resources. He facilitates the agency’s “Alliance for Change in Education” initiative, and he said what he has heard about open government in America has impressed him.
“In America, you have ways to separate private life from public life for public officials, especially in local governments, so people don’t go into public life to further their own interests,” said Abubakari. “I think your public officials are dedicated to public service. Because of your laws, a person has to examine themselves carefully before seeking public office.”
Council members Glorious Johnson and Warren Jones attended the meeting to offer their insights into the open government process.
“So many people all over the world are curious about how we govern in America,” said Johnson. “This is a wonderful opportunity to share ideas. Even though countries and their laws are very different, we all share the same goal of improving life for our constituents.”
Photo by Max Marbut