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— U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
Winona County wants to keep you in the dark. They say it’s for the good of progress, business and the county.
But it’s a hard argument to make. It goes something like this: The public is better served when it is cut out of the government process.
And that’s exactly what a new idea floating around the county seeks to do.
The county planning department — as it revises its zoning ordinances — wants to cut out the public input process, giving feedlot operators who want to expand to operations between 300 and 700 animal units the option to appear privately — outside the public scope — before a five-person panel.
Does something about this seem secretive? Does it smack of special interest? Does it feel wrong?
We’d suggest the answer is “yes” to all of these questions. Putting any government process out of the public spotlight might expedite government, but it also takes away a critical function of the public: The right to know what’s happening as the county conducts business on the public’s behalf. And, it cuts out the right to go on the public record with objections.
We hope the idea — still in its formative stages — is nixed by the county board as soon as possible.
County planning director Brian Bender told the Daily News this would allow the county to make decisions outside a “highly charged public environment.”
Excuse us, Mr. Bender, but the county isn’t a private business, it’s a public government institution. Begging out of public input shouldn’t be an option. And if the environment around a feedlot expansion is “highly charged” then there usually is a compelling reason.
Because many of these feedlot expansions are public and deal with such critical topics like property values, environmental concerns and humane treatment of animals, the public should be involved and has a right to be involved.
Some in the business community worry the controversy that sometimes comes along with a feedlot expansion scares too many businesses away.
Yet, if the business is economically sound and responsible, feedlot operators should have nothing to fear. If the business model makes sense as well as dollars, then operators, like any business, are probably willing to brave the public scrutiny in order to make a good business decision.
Manure spills have been reported time and time again in the Winona area. There are concerns with expanded operations and herd size even in agriculture areas. Operators looking to expand aren’t the only ones affected. Neighbors and small towns could also be affected, and it’s reasonable to expect they should have a voice in the process.
The Land Stewardship Project in Winona is correct: Many of the violations from feedlots have been reported by citizens.
This makes citizen input a valuable and necessary part of the process.
Good government simply doesn’t happen in secret.
The Winona Daily News editorial board also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson. To comment, call (507) 453-3507 or send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com.
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