FOIA: what does it mean?
"Free Only If in Attendance" for copies of documents provided to officials during public meetings? No.
"For Our Inside Acquaintances" where information is distributed selectively? No.
FOIA means the "Freedom of Information Act" and it isn't supposed to be something government "acts" like it is doing. It is the law.
These are basic principles of democracy. Following the letter of the law, rather than seeking ways to circumvent it. Government, for the people, being open and transparent (all the what's and why's clear and obvious, decided in the public eye). This allows government by the people to occur.
Regular readers of this blog know that last March 18, Christiansburg government was caught doing what it had been doing for quite a while -- ignoring FOIA. Even though new council members were said to be schooled in this law and all council members received FOIA materials annually, these practices went on. Even though town administrators also had access to extensive FOIA resources, including the town's own legal counsel, membership in the Virginia Municipal League (VML), and free advice waiting at the Virginia Coalition for Open Government (VCOG). This gave our government and our community a self-inflicted black eye.
Since then, the Town Council appears to be making some corrections or improvements, demonstrating a general adherence (if not respect), for this law. Public notice boards are now more accessible and visible. All public meeting agendas are distributed a minimum of three business days in advance, generally. All public meetings are posted, generally, and this has included some meetings which do not require notice but are then covered if other elected officials show up.
Granted, there can be problems in the finer details of interpreting this law. There have been abuses by industries (such as legal or insurance companies) overwhelming government agencies with requests for information as they build huge databases to be used for commercial purposes.
This has not been the case in Christiansburg and the basic FOIA requirements are simple. Council should insist they and town administrators adhere to the intent: open government. The alternative would be seeking enforcement of full compliance.