Senator Bob Guida has been doing a lot of good work on this issue, and I recommend you follow his public posts on Facebook. Granite Grok is also covering the issue extensively, and it they who brought it to my attention that the Town of Windham was considering being less than transparent in choosing their forensic auditor. I wrote the following email to the Board of Selectmen, asking them to keep the whole procedure as open and transparent as possible. Without openness and transparency, there can be no trust, and as trust erodes in our institutions, the state is reacting with more and more secrecy. Let’s change that before it is too late!
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Dear Windham Board of Selectmen,
I’m sure you’re being inundated, so I’ll keep this brief. I serve on Right-to-Know NH, a nonpartisan statewide coalition of concerned open government advocates.
It’s come to my attention that you are not planning to make all steps in the decision making for the forensic audit open to the public? This seems short-sighted and will likely unnecessarily raise suspicions at a time of historically low trust in government. Please keep the whole process open and transparent.
I remind you, the NH Constitution requires the following of you:
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted. The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government. Therefore, any individual taxpayer eligible to vote in the State, shall have standing to petition the Superior Court to declare whether the State or political subdivision in which the taxpayer resides has spent, or has approved spending, public funds in violation of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision. In such a case, the taxpayer shall not have to demonstrate that his or her personal rights were impaired or prejudiced beyond his or her status as a taxpayer. However, this right shall not apply when the challenged governmental action is the subject of a judicial or administrative decision from which there is a right of appeal by statute or otherwise by the parties to that proceeding.Please keep your oath of office. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Carla Gericke
Former Republican State Senate Candidate District 20