Water meetings should be open to public scrutiny

Raise the red flags. Our government is preparing to hold secret meetings to talk about our most precious resource — water.

The pump is primed for untold back-room agreements that may or may not benefit taxpayers.

We’re told public officials have to go behind closed doors for these chats so they can “speak freely” among themselves. Otherwise, their words might be misinterpreted.

That’s what City Commissioner Ladona Clayton said in justifying the closed meetings of the task force that’s charged with finding public water resources.

“When confidentiality and a climate of trust is created for this exchange, planning team members speak freely because they do not concern themselves with how their words or ideas may be misinterpreted or misconstrued,” Clayton said.

“Being able to speak openly where everything is on the table is vital to the success of what we were charged to do.”

We think it’s more important that government “speak openly” and create a “climate of trust” with taxpayers.

Sadly, the behind-closed-doors meetings are allowed under New Mexico’s Public Meetings Act; that’s because the task force has no policy-making authority.

It can only make recommendations to public entities, who do make policy.

But do not be fooled.

We keep flashing back to the secret Economic Development Tax Advisory Board meetings in 2011, when officials hammered out a deal to give Beauty Health and Science Innovation about $2 million tax dollars.

Remember that one? It was supposed to result in hundreds of great-paying jobs. It produced zero jobs and zero economic benefit for eastern New Mexico. But it still cost $2 million.

The EDTAB didn’t make policy either; it just made a recommendation to the Clovis city commission ... which spent all of seven minutes deciding to rubber stamp the plan.

We’d like to trust the distinguished members of the water task force, who include representatives from the city, the county, the economic development corporation and EPCOR, the city’s private water supplier.

But history tells us it’s better to spotlight government activity. It’s easier to see the money change hands that way.

Make no mistake. This task force will be talking about taxpayer money and ways to spend it.

One possibility:

Since Big Brother can’t make it rain, its latest greatest plan to ensure we all have water involves public-private partnerships. Taxpayers will purchase water from private landowners, then pipe it to the most populated places.

That sounds reasonable, but it also sounds like millions of dollars are going to be exchanged between taxpayers and a few individuals.

We think it’s best taxpayers get to witness discussions about how those dollars are going to be distributed, and to whom.

Government needs to create a “climate of trust” — with taxpayers.

It does that with transparency, not behind closed doors.

Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Clovis Media Inc. editorial board, which includes Editor David Stevens and Publisher Rob Langrell.