When Bureaucracy Becomes Obstruction …

In a move that perfectly encapsulates why citizens grow distrustful of local government, Washoe County officials have apparently found a creative way to avoid addressing serious safety concerns at the courthouse - by drowning them in bureaucratic procedure.

Chief Judge Lynne Simons recently took the step of formally request reports from county officials about elevated radon levels detected in the courthouse - a building where hundreds of employees work daily and thousands of citizens fulfill their civic duties each year. Her letter, written in her official capacity as the top judicial officer in the district, outlined concerns that would reasonably demand immediate attention from any responsible property manager, let alone a government entity charged with public safety.

The county's response? They've reclassified Judge Simons' letter as a "public records request" - a designation that conveniently allows them to delay any substantive response, citing the amount of "work" required to address her questions.

Let's be absolutely clear: A letter from a Chief Judge about potentially dangerous radiation levels in a public building is not a public records request. It's an official communication from one branch of government to another about an urgent safety matter.

This is a startling misuse of public records law. Public records laws are designed to give citizens access to government information, not to give officials a tool to delay responding to legitimate safety concerns from other government officials.

The county's procedural sidestep raises disturbing questions. If a Chief Judge's formal concerns about workplace safety can be relegated to a waiting list, what chance do average citizens have of receiving timely responses to their concerns? More worryingly, what does this approach say about the county's priorities regarding public health?

Radon, a colorless, odorless radioactive gas that can accumulate in buildings, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States according to the EPA. Elevated levels typically warrant prompt investigation and mitigation - not bureaucratic delay tactics. One could ask where is the Northern Nevada Public Health Department?

Converting a health and safety notification into a records request is like responding to a fire alarm by filling out a form asking why someone pulled it. This completely misses the point of why safety protocols exist in the first place.

The courthouse situation exemplifies a growing tendency among some government entities to use procedural mechanisms as shields against accountability rather than as tools for good governance. By recategorizing Judge Simons' letter, county officials have found a technically legal, but ethically questionable, way to push an urgent matter into a procedural corner.

Meanwhile, judges, court staff, attorneys, jurors, sheriff deputies, inmates, and members of the public continue to spend their days in a building flagged for elevated levels of a known carcinogen - a situation that would likely be deemed unacceptable in private sector workplaces.

The irony is palpable: in the very building where justice is supposed to be served promptly and fairly, concerns about basic safety are subjected to delay and procedural obstruction. One wonders what kind of judgment the county might face if this matter were brought before the very courts housed in the building in question.

Commissioner Mike Clark who brought this up today at the Washoe County Board of County Commissioner’s meeting questioned if government values procedural loopholes more than their employee’s health.

The letter Chief Judge Lynne Jones sent to Washoe County that they turned into a public records request to stall for time. What is County Manager Eric Brown and his direct reports hiding at the courthouse?