From The Pueblo Chieftain:  By Steve Henson Managing Editor There is a disturbing trend in local government, and it’s growing.

That trend is, local elected officials do not want you to hear how they reach difficult or sensitive decisions. They want to have their tough discussions behind closed doors — the politically correct term is “executive session” — and then come out into the public light, pretend they’re all one big happy group of officials, and present a proposal as if everyone totally agreed on it.

The intent behind Colorado’s public meetings law is very clear: The public has a right to know how decisions are reached. Boards such as city councils, school boards and county commissioners are very limited in what they can talk about behind closed doors.

For example, they can discuss a personnel matter, e.g., a department head has been putting in three-hour days and the board is deciding whether to discipline and retain the employee, or fire that employee.

The Pueblo City Council’s recent discussions regarding a plan to raid the city’s half-cent sales tax dedicated to economic development illustrate what a board is NOT allowed to discuss behind closed doors.

Our council has gone behind closed doors to discuss what is inarguably a very sensitive topic. And that is, the council needs money for things like streets projects, and it sees a potential funding source — the half-cent sales tax revenues.

That is taxpayer money, and the use of that money has been clearly earmarked all along. It is to be used to attract primary jobs to our community. Period. Nothing else.

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