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May 11th 2008

Stealth Planning by State is Road to Folly...

By Dan Sapir and Dennis Randall
(April 18, 2003) Somewhere out there we have heard a quote about some kind of road paved with good intentions. Unfortunately, the words are often true. Once again Kingston comes up short on the communications yardstick where the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing. This was the case with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the offices of Massachusetts Emergency Management (MEMA), and the Silver Lake High School Administration.

Sometime in January of this year the DPH and MEMA corresponded with our school district relative to a plan for the distribution of Potassium Iodide (KI). As result of that contact, KI tablets are now being stockpiled in all Kingston school facilities. School committee members were never advised KI was on the way or stockpiled. Local boards of health were never advised of the plan. Several months ago, the Kingston Board of Selectmen received a report from a paid consultant for a policy and evacuation plan in the event of a nuclear emergency at the Pilgrim Power Plant. The report was filed and to date the selectmen have taken no action to implement the consultant’s recommendations.

During the period when the school administration was drafting the KI plan, the school committee was never informed or invited to offer input. In the past, the school committee had several opportunities to deal with the issue of KI distribution in the schools and choose to take no action, citing concerns over liability. The committee never authorized or requested a plan from the administration.

At issue is not in the wisdom or adequacy of the KI plan. Our concern is that under our system of government, elected officials establish policy and professionals, like the administration, are charged with policy implementation. This case turned the process inside out and stood it on its head. While KI remains stockpiled at the school, the school committee has yet to approve a plan for the drug’s use. In fact, earlier this month, when the regional committee first saw the draft plan, the matter was tabled for several weeks.

The school committee was not the only governmental agency kept out of the process. Our local health board was never apprised or consulted. Essentially a significant public policy was concocted out of view of the public or its elected representatives. Had the process been open and above board the public would have had an opportunity to address some of the plan’s glaring deficiencies.
The State’s stealth handling of the KI plan is all too reminiscent of the same lack of communication exhibited two years ago. Back then the DPH failed to notify the local health board of an incident of tuberculosis at a local restaurant. The event went unreported to local health officials. That gaff set off a firestorm of fear and near panic.

The public interest is never served when the public, or its representative, are kept out of any public policy planning process. If bureaucrats don’t trust the public to understand or participate in the process how can we trust them to represent our best interests?
 

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