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If jail's operators want to meet, let public hear

Just when it seemed things couldn't get much worse for the company that runs the Hernando County Jail, the Corrections Corporation of America one-upped itself.

Responding to criticism earlier this week from county commissioners - who finally realized that flawed operations at the jail demanded their attention - representatives from CCA's corporate offices in Nashville traveled to Brooksville to smooth things over and discuss their ideas for improving the facility.

Their game plan? To meet behind closed doors Thursday and today with each commissioner, the county attorney, the interim county administrator, the sheriff and the department head who oversees their contract with the county.

That approach is sneaky and an insult to every resident of Hernando County whose taxes are being used to pay CCA $10-million a year to provide a vital public safety function.

If CCA officials have something to say, they should say it in the open so that the people who are relying on their services can hear it in its entirety. Why attempt to sequester themselves in the commissioners' offices and shut out the public? Are they ashamed of what they want to say, or do they fear what the commissioners might say to them?

At the same time, residents should be just as outraged that the people they elected to represent them accepted CCA's invitation to conduct the public's business in private. By meeting with CCA's representatives individually, the commissioners are not violating the letter of Florida's Sunshine Law, but they certainly are desecrating its spirit.

Every commissioner should have refused to participate in CCA's shadowy overture and told the corporate executives to put their concerns in writing or present them to the full board in a meeting with proper notice. Any elected official who cannot grasp the clarity of conducting business in that manner needs to re-evaluate his or her commitment to public service.

Late in the day Thursday, commissioners agreed to let Times reporter Jonathan Abel sit in on their meetings with CCA's executives, but that gesture seemed more like an attempt to deflect criticism than a genuine effort to inform the public.

The need for full disclosure is more important than ever now that the State Attorney's Office is gathering evidence for the purpose of deciding if CCA's conduct merits further investigation, or possibly even justifies convening a grand jury.

CCA should realize that operating openly and cooperating fully with the public's representatives is the only way to meaningfully address the problems at the jail and to restore confidence in its company. The commissioners have the power - and the responsibility - to set the bar for that behavior.

[Last modified January 27, 2006, 01:21:16]