Listening

Brian Wilson

Last Thursday morning I spent some time visiting with a group of about a dozen area veterans and their supporters at The Star News office.

The veterans were understandably concerned about what is going on at the courthouse around the veterans service office. Their concerns followed a heated February 16 Veterans Service Committee meeting and county board chairman Jim Metz’s subsequent decision to remove the county board members of the committee and appoint new members. While not unprecedented, the move is rare, especially coming just months before the county board reorganizational meeting.

I had been contacted earlier in the week by a local veteran who wanted to be sure that their voices were heard and that their concerns were being addressed.

Typically if the Taylor County Veterans Service makes the news it is to announce a veterans program, a change in benefits, or as part of an event recognizing the service and sacrifice of area veterans.

Recently, the veterans service office has been making headlines due to a closed-door policy. The veterans service staff says the closed and locked door is needed to protect the privacy of veterans using the office.

By itself, this seems like it should not be a big deal. After all, the goal is to help connect veterans with the benefits they earned through their service.

The challenge is that Taylor County has historically maintained an open door policy when it comes to all county offices, something that was reinforced through the COVID-19 pandemic. This philosophy is based on the belief that people should be able to have easy access to their local government.

A closed door, whether it be at an office, or to a public meeting sends a message that the public is not welcome. Regardless of its actual intent, asking people to knock before entering shifts the balance of power away from members of the public as they are faced with having to ask for permission to enter.

Of course, there are times when privacy must prevail. It is that balancing act between privacy and public access that members of the committee tried to walk. Unfortunately, emotions were running high as well as very real concerns by the veterans involved that they could lose the local office entirely.

The folks who visited with me last week were worried. They were worried about the future of the veterans service office. They were concerned about losing the current staff. They were worried about the potential of delays staffing disruption may cause for veterans seeking benefits. Fundamentally they were concerned about the direction they see the county heading.

In the time since the veterans service meeting, I have listened to county board members, county employees and members of the public all share concerns. A common thread among all these conversations has been the need to ensure that veterans continue to receive services along with the recognition that a level of privacy is needed, but at the same time veterans and families need to be able to maintain access to the office whenever they need it.

There are many solutions to the current situation. Some, such as building an entirely separate building for the office, are less practical than others. Other solutions only address specific symptoms without addressing the causes of larger problems at play in the county.

Taylor County is facing demographic change in its departmental leadership. County elected leaders no longer have the luxury of setting policy by the experienced people with long relationships of working cooperatively together sitting around the table and must look ahead to the need for more formalized organizational structure.

Regardless of what decisions are ultimately reached, any path to a solution comes from all those involved taking the time to listen and hear the concerns and their causes. It is only through listening to others that we can together work to achieve common goals.

Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News.