That is the question.
Have public officials who sign non-disclosure agreements committed a breach of trust with the citizens they serve?
Personally, I’m going with “You bet your sweet bippy, Alex, for $1000!” Of course they have. To say otherwise means that we have to suspend rational thought and essentially make the following statement: “Government should NOT be transparent when deciding on, and overseeing the most important decisions that affect its citizens!” And that of course, is ridiculous.
And our Morgan County officials know it, too. That’s why, to my knowledge, only three have publicly admitted signing one. And those three only admitted it after their feet were held to the fire in the court of public opinion. So why the reluctance? Why not just come clean?
The answer is simple: Because they instinctively knew it was wrong.
I state wrong, not illegal. They did not break any current Indiana or federal laws. But the legality of an action is not an endorsement of its morality. Like most of us, they know at their core that to represent the citizens of the county openly and honestly, transparency is essential. But they’ve dodged the questions. They’ve avoided social media. They’ve played the victim card. They’ve done everything in their power to avoid saying three simple words: “I signed it.” That doesn’t sound like a group of people that are particularly proud of their actions, does it?
So why did they do it? Why would they “unofficially” violate the oaths they took?
Well, if you take them at the very few words they offered on the subject, it was to get information. The big bad company that called itself Woodland Caribou — but was, in fact, Google — just wouldn’t tell them anything about what was going on with “Project Louie” unless they signed. But this, like their other excuses, was patently false.
I mean, really, who’s in charge here anyway? The members of your board of county commissioners would have you believe that they weren’t.
They simply had no power to oversee the process without signing. They couldn’t stop the massive tax abatements. They couldn’t prevent rezoning. And how could they possibly stop the formation of TIF districts that will funnel taxes away from the people they serve? They were completely powerless and just trying to make a bad situation better. Hogwash. They voted yes to all of it.
You see, the signing was NEVER about them getting information. It was ALWAYS about HIDING what was going on behind the public’s back.
The reality is that each of these officials and commissioners could have demanded the so-called “information” they were seeking prior to voting. It’s really simple.
“Oh, you don’t want to tell us what your plans are? Okay, we’re going to say no to your zoning request, no to your tax abatements, and no to your TIF district. Come back when you can tell us what’s going on.”
Only a fool would believe that they signed these to “get information.”
It was always about keeping it under wraps for as long as possible. And that is how you know who most of Morgan County’s officials were really serving.
Somewhere in a Google file folder are copies of the agreements that they signed — and the receipts for meals. I, for one, would be really interested to know when, where and in whose presence those documents were signed. Not to mention what was said.
Did Bryan Collier sign his over a ribeye steak at his failed attempt at a “secret” meeting? Was Chip Keller having drinks with attorneys when he got the “information” he needed? Who knows? But they are completely fair questions to ask.
We only know one thing for sure — they sure didn’t sign them in public meetings!
Like the kids that sold out Willy Wonka for the Everlasting Gob-Stopper, our officials were probably courted individually. And this much is certain: We will never know the words said, see the text messages, or read the emails that involve these meetings.
You could make the case that they felt they were competing with other counties for Google riches, and accordingly, had to get the inside track on the negotiations. But sadly, that would mean that they knew who they were dealing with, and were actively pursuing the data center, wouldn’t it?
So why did they sign it?
Just so they can’t argue against the credibility of the source, I’ll tell you what Google’s own search engine says on the subject: “Preventing Premature Public Mobilization: By requiring officials to use code names (e.g., “Project Bigfoot” or “Project Louie”), companies bypass early-stage public scrutiny regarding intensive local land, water and energy use. This allows the regulatory, permitting and incentive processes to advance significantly before public opposition can organize.”
Critical negotiations were being had by county officials that weren’t in front of the public.
And they didn’t want you to know about it.
That, and that only, is the reason they signed.
Marcus Billings is a Morgan County native and local business owner. He is a member-elect of the Jackson Township Advisory Board.
