One of the rights guaranteed in the US Constitution is the right to hold government accountable as outlined in the First Amendment. That right is backed up by Vermont’s state constitution as well and is the basis of the state’s public records and open meeting laws.
But civil liberties and other watchdog groups say that too often Vermont’s government officials deny requests by the public for records, and meet in sessions closed to the public without adequate reason.
These concerns and others will be the focus of a day-long conference starting Thursday morning at St. Michael’s College in Colchester.
VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb speaks with one of the attendees: Allen Gilbert, Executive Director of the Vermont chapter of the ACLU says, unfortunately, there’s been little incentive for government in Vermont to be transparent and accountable to the public.