Our View: Trust must be earned, especially when broken

Four years ago, it was standing room only in the courthouse when the hospital board discussed its management contract with Rapid City Regional Health (RCRH). It had been a topic of discussion for weeks across the county. There was deep concern about the future of our hospital and long term care.

The public felt we’d been seeing progress, that things were more positive than they had been when RCRH arrived. The community came out in force to share their concerns.

To this day, we don’t know why RCRH was dismissed. The decision was made in executive sessions and consequently the board was not able to tell us.

Was it the right decision, in the end? We simply don’t know.

You could argue that RCRH was replaced with the management company that has turned CCMSD into an award-winning district the community can be proud of, but that wasn’t a factor in the decision. The board broke its partnership with RCRH without having secured Health Management Services (HMS) as a replacement. The success of HMS is pure coincidence.

The truth of the matter is that we can never know if it was the right decision, because we can never know why the decision was made. It is entirely possible that there was malfeasance, wrongdoing and bad practice on RCRH’s part – but it’s just as possible that the board’s decision was based on flimsy objections.

This is the trouble with executive sessions. It’s why seasoned boards and commissions tend to think twice before calling one, and it’s why they usually come back out as swiftly as possible.

The trustees at that time – only two of whom are still serving – will never be able to tell us what they were thinking. From the outside, nothing seemed wrong, but the board apparently knew differently.

Would the community have been as confused and angry if the board had been able to list their reasons? Of course not.

Would we have a greater level of trust in the board now if they had not appeared to be hiding things? Of course.

There will always be issues that are best discussed in private. It’s not fair to discuss personnel matters in front of an audience, and it’s usually best to consider legal issues in private.

But there’s a reason transparency is so vital to our democracy. The public can forgive almost anything, but it will never forgive being lied to – either outright, or by omission. Our elected officials pledge their time to our service; they are our servants, not kings and queens.

If, as an elected official, you have the option to discuss a topic in public, we can think of few examples where it’s not the right option to take. Not everyone will agree with what you decide, but that’s part and parcel of public service – there will always be those who disagree.

At least the public will know what led to your decision and can see for themselves that it was the product of thought, consideration and discussion. No matter their feelings on your choice, they can understand the method you followed to reach it.

That’s not the case when you keep your thought process hidden from us. And if you cannot tell us what you’re doing behind those closed doors, can you blame the community for its reaction when your decisions come out of the blue?

We know that not every trustee feels the contract with HMS should be discussed in private. One trustee has stepped down partly because of his opinions on that matter.

We have reason to believe he is not alone. The president of HMS has also publically stated he has no qualms about his contract being discussed in the open.

So we ask the board to step out from behind those closed doors and have this conversation where we can see it. Let us be an audience to your decision making – if you are pushing with all your might to make this district the best it can be, let us see that.

Trust the public to understand what you are doing. Trust us to accept your decisions are made with the best intentions. Trust that we will learn once again to believe our trustees have our best interests at heart.

Because at the end of the day, you were elected to serve this community’s needs. And if you don’t trust us to stand witness your actions, how can we trust you?

Jeff Moberg, Publisher