PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 29, 2018
BETTER UTAH RESPONDS TO PORT AUTHORITY BOARD DECISION
Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Inland Port Authority Board decided once again to keep subcommittee meetings closed to the public.
Chase Thomas, executive director at Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement:
“The Inland Port Authority Board has ignored the recent outcry from concerned individuals and organizations. The Board had the opportunity today to be open and transparent to the public, but instead decided to keep its decision-making shielded behind closed doors simply because state law allows it to do so. Essentially, the public is left to see only the process of using a rubber stamp to validate any work done by the subcommittees. The public should have the ability to see that work and hear those discussion.
“This sets bad precedent for the transparency of government bodies in our state. To shield decision making processes, all that commissions or boards must do is split into small enough subcommittees and then rubber stamp any decisions those subcommittees make. We hope the Inland Port Authority Board reconsiders, and we call on lawmakers to re-examine the Open Meetings Law in light of this unfortunate decision.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah is a good government advocacy and watchdog organization based in Salt Lake City. The organization works to improve the lives of all Utahns by ensuring balance, transparency, and accountability in Utah politics, policy, and government. More information at www.betterutah.org.