The Indiana Publisher

communities through sound cov- erage of local issues, principled leadership on our opinion pages and continued opportunities for our business partners to share their message will remain our top priority. KPC excelled at this and that will continue under my leadership." Fritz said Ernsberger will be a great fit in leading the KPC publi- cations. "As a lifelong resident of Kendallville, Jenny understands the issues that are most important to these communities, and can work with other leaders throughout northeast Indiana to help address those matters," Fritz said. "She was the clear choice to lead KPC, and we look forward to working with her well into the future as she leads these newspapers." Ernsberger started with KPC Media in 2005 as an advertis- ing representative for directories serving readers and businesses in northeast Indiana. She transitioned to an advertising sales representa- tive for KPC's newspapers in 2011, and then became advertising direc- tor for all of KPC Media in 2019. She and her husband have five children. "We're heavily invested in seeing this region succeed and I'm excited for the role I can play through my new position in mak- ing that happen," Ernsberger said. Page 4 June 2022 Ken de la Bastide Herald Bulletin Anderson Transparency has been the catchphrase during this year's county election cycle, and more openness in all government functions is critical. But there are not a lot of teeth in two state laws that are intended to make the operations of state and local government open to the taxpayers. The Indiana Open Door Law and Access to Public Records are meant to ensure most gov- ernment decisions are made in public meetings. The Open Records law is meant to provide public access to government documents such as contracts and expenditures. The Open Door law provides for closed-door sessions by gov- ernment bodies when discussing pending litigation, purchasing of land, hiring and discipline of employees and the signing of contracts. All official action is to take place in a public setting, but in reality, most of the decisions are made before the official meeting for a vote to be taken. The public access counselor position is meant to oversee the enforcement of both the Open Door and Public Records laws. The problem is, only opin- ions can be issued, and there is no penalty for a violation deemed by the public access counselor. A public reprimand is akin to a slap on the wrist, aside from the bad publicity from an unfa- vorable ruling. This week the Indiana Public Access Counselor determined that Madison County officials violated the state's Open Door law in connection with the dis- tribution of $25.1 million being received through the American Rescue Plan. Last November, the Madison County Commissioners estab- lished a plan to distribute the funding through a commit- tee of elected and appointed officials with a review by the Madison County Council of Governments. Although the advisory opin- ion by Public Access Counselor Luke Britt only mentioned the Madison County Board of Commissioners as being in violation, it really should have included many more elected officials. Included on the com- mittee were two members of the Madison County Council, the sheriff, the auditor and the county attorney. The county has already decided on how to spend $3 million of the ARP funds with- out any public input or public comment. In fact, when the funding was approved by the com- missioners earlier this year, it was admitted that the Madison County Council of Governments Commentary: Transparency needed in ARP funds process ... the Indiana Public Access Counselor determined that Madison County officials violated the state's Open Door law in connec- tion with the distribution of $25.1 million being received through the American Rescue Plan. Ernsberger Continued from Page 3 "Serving our communities through sound coverage of local issues, principled leader- ship on our opinion pages and continued opportunities for our business partners to share their message will remain our top priority." — Jenny Ernsberger, general manager, KCP Media See Open Door, page 6

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