One only need to observe any Central Texas media outlet to know what the poster-child of secrecy and bad governance for decades looks like – the Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC). While there are many civic-minded efforts to improve the issues plaguing PEC, they fumbled into their current dilemma for one and only one reason – a lack of transparency.

 There is fine, bi-partisan bill co-authored by Texas House Rep. Patrick Rose and State Sen. Troy Fraser, that could go a long way toward making PEC transparent, if signed into law.
Governmental agencies typically go awry over this very issue. A lack of transparency seems to be the Achilles heel of public service gone wrong.
So when the Lakeway Municipal Utilities District (LMUD) passed its “non-binding” code seeking to mute fellow board members in favor of channeling all public information through “one voice,” it was no less than a slap in the face of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. LMUD customers have every right to know exactly what their directors are doing on their behalf, because they pay their bills.
This little gem comes directly from the non-binding directive: “Directors will represent the district in a positive manner at all times.”
Is that to say that if a director disagrees with what LMUD policy, their First Amendment rights should be forfeited? Were this directive a “binding” one, it would be, unquestionably, Unconstitutional. It wouldn’t even stand a chance in a court of law.
A large number of LMUD customers have no representation. That harkens back to the very foundations our nation is founded on: “Taxation without representation.”
While the LMUD General Manager may have had legitimate, personal reasons for wanting to bid on LMUD-owned property, it is easy to argue, in essence, that it was a conflict of interest. To his credit, he withdrew his bid. This newspaper gives him the benefit of the doubt.
However, one thing is very clear – a large number of LMUD customers in the first 17 sections of Lakeway have no voice in the management of the district. That is simply unacceptable. Everyone deserves a voice in the governance of public services.
Further, LMUD is clearly un-representative holistically. Many moons ago, such un-representative governance inspired the Boston Tea Party.
We do not claim to have the solutions to how LMUD must be fixed, except to say this – their representation system is, indeed, broken. The new policy, while “unbinding,” is disturbing, given the template of the U.S. Constitution. This “non-binding” policy should be immediately rescinded.
We believe LMUD does an excellent job of providing clean, potable water to its customers, and does its best to address sewage issues as they arise. It is an agency with many positive aspects.
Yet in the final analysis, either LMUD is transparent, or it is, in fact, broken, and would be better operated in a different manner. LMUD can do better. It must do better. It is their fiduciary responsibility to their customers, who are ultimately, citizens.
- Charles McClure
Editor, Lake Travis View