Thanks for the transparency
Sunshine Week 2025 concluded on Saturday, and the News Letter Journal is pleased to be able to applaud two local boards, the Board of Weston County Commissioners and Newcastle City Council, for recent efforts to conduct tough conversations publicly.
In addition to their willingness to discuss uncomfortable issues publicly, those boards have also shown their level of commitment to the people they serve by holding long meetings and putting in the time to do the work needed to tackle these challenges — instead of kicking the can down the road.
We have heard reports all across Wyoming about local governments that are facing tough times as a result of decreases in property tax approved by the Wyoming Legislature. Overcoming these anticipated hard times is going to take hard work and our local boards are showing a willingness to rise to the occasion and put in the hours.
The county commissioners have had several lengthy discussions regarding budget items and concerns they have for both the current fiscal year and those to come. These discussions have included suggestions that department budgets may be cut, raised the potential of reductions in staffing and expressed general uncertainty about the future.
Those aren’t easy things for elected officials to talk about, especially in a small town, but these discussions are only going to get tougher the closer the board gets to approving a budget. Transparency helps citizens understand the need for tough decisions, however, and we encourage the board to remain committed to holding these conversations publicly.
And while five-hour meetings can be burdensome, we hope the board continues to take as much time as needed to hammer out the issues they face because the people of Weston County deserve to hear what their elected representatives think about these topics. Full public discourse — especially when there is disagreement — is essential in illuminating all sides of an issue for the members of the public impacted by these decisions.
Speaking of both sides of the issue, the Newcastle City Council also held a lengthy conversation about a memorandum of understanding for the newly formed Newcastle Youth Softball Association when other youth organizations in the community objected.
In Weston County, and Newcastle, we constantly hear complaints about the lack of organized activities for children. What isn’t often discussed is the amount of resources required to provide new activities, and the fact that the council conducted an open debate about the challenges associated with accommodating this new endeavor provided the community with some valuable insight. It also allows us to present the issue to citizens, and invites them to offer their own input on the issue to their elected representatives prior to a decision being made.
It is gratifying to see local public officials put in the work and take steps to be more transparent, and we encourage our readers to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the public discussions held by these boards to learn a little more about local government. In addition to reading the stories about these issues in this week’s newspaper, we invite you to check out the conversations yourself by viewing the meetings on our YouTube Channel.
Who knows? You might even be able to offer a suggestion or two that will make the decisions a little less tough for your elected leaders.