Transparency does not need to be top priority, council chairman says
Just weeks before the Beaufort County Council refused to make public the findings of an investigation into a secret contract with its former county administrator, the council chairman emailed his colleagues, recommending that transparency be removed as a priority for the coming year.
Now, Stu Rodman has taken that a step further, telling the Island Packet that he will no longer speak to its reporters — placing one more barrier between local government officials and the community they’re elected to serve.
Rodman’s actions, bookending the newspaper’s publication of a summary of the never-officially-released report which finds that the county likely broke state law in its dealings, are important because they could affect the council’s reputation with the community going forward.
“When you lose the public’s trust, they don’t believe anything you say,” said Joseph Dunkle, a former member of the Beaufort County Board of Education, a group still trying to regain its foothold with the public after years of dysfunction. “If they can’t trust council now, what about other projects?”
In his May 2 email, Rodman, elected chair in January, informed council members that transparency could be dropped as a priority to focus on other concerns.
Rodman’s reasoning, according to the email: Citizens don’t complain about transparency; council is transparent; it is unclear what additional actions council could or should take; and, transparency isn’t as important as the council’s other priorities, such as employee compensation, storm water, solid waste and economic development.
The email, which followed the council’s March strategic planning meeting setting priorities, was obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette on Wednesday, and three council members later confirmed its existence.
Council members Mike Covert and Chris Hervochon said they did not respond to that email because they believe transparency should be a council priority. Neither recalled any council member responding to Rodman’s email nor whether any action was taken.
The issue of transparency in the council comes as the county grapples with several controversial issues, the latest of which is the secret consulting contract. In early June, an attorney hired by council to investigate submitted her findings on the legality of a county attorney-approved $24,000 consulting contract with former Interim County Administrator Josh Gruber. When the Island Packet filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the report, the county rejected the request, citing attorney-client privilege.
A 12-page summary of the report was obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette and outlined the findings of the investigation, but the full report remains cloaked.
Covert said transparency should not be removed from the council’s priorities; it should be applied to every priority. “Transparency is critical in everything we do.”
Dunkle, the former school board member, was a strong proponent for transparency during his time on the school board and was especially vocal about the board’s alleged misuse of executive session. He said he’s noticed similarities between the secrecy of the former school board and the recent transparency issues on council. He said if council members were forthright with citizens, they wouldn’t have to defend anything.
Rodman was elected chair at a specially called meeting in January, days after the council initially selected Councilman Brian Flewelling for the role. Because some council members were absent, Flewelling asked for a re-vote with all members present. Rodman was elected chair in a 6-5 vote. The chairman, who’s served on council since 2007, will complete his term in December 2022.
On Monday, Rodman asked Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies to remove a controversial, long-time government critic in the middle of a public speech because the citizen wished to speak about transparency.
On Tuesday, contacted by a reporter for comment, Rodman said he would refuse to speak to anyone from the Packet until it apologized for a June 19 opinion column he called “over the top.”
Island Packet Columnist Liz Farrell’s column described the community’s frustrations with council and detailed the report on the Gruber consulting contract. It called for greater public accountability.
Shortly after Rodman declined to speak with the reporter, he emailed council members and County Attorney Thomas Keaveny, reiterating his refusal to talk to the paper. Asked Wednesday about the email, Rodman did not acknowledge it but said the column was “egregious.”
Several council members said later that Rodman’s email did not reflect the opinions of the entire council.
“Nobody speaks for me except me,” Covert said. Councilman Flewelling said that he would object if told not to speak to the paper.
Hervochon said he had no problem speaking with the Packet and said he “wholeheartedly disagreed” with Rodman’s notion that transparency was not a priority for council.
This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 12:10 PM.
