Lawmakers shouldn't let agencies meet with auditors in secret

South Carolina lawmakers should reject a change to the state's open meetings law that would allow agencies to meet with their auditors in private.

Citizens have a right to know the financial condition of public bodies. They should be able to know whether their money is being handled correctly and spent appropriately. The oversight of state agencies and other public bodies should not be hidden.

But The (Charleston) Post and Courier reports that the board of public utility Santee Cooper has approached the Office of the State Auditor and the Attorney General's Office about changing the law to allow boards to meet in private with their auditors.

All public bodies are audited. Independent auditors go over the books and make sure that money goes where it is supposed to and that the agency keeps its books properly. These auditors then report back to the agency's board or council.

What information could be more important to handle in public?

Yet Santee Cooper wants to be able to meet with its auditors in private.

Its leaders told The Post and Courier that the state Freedom of Information Act doesn't allow it to do what private companies can do.

Of course not. Santee Cooper is not a private company. It is owned by the state, by the people of South Carolina. And those people have a right to know how its finances are handled.

Santee Cooper hasn't shown much interest in being open with its owners. A state Senate investigation last year uncovered a trend of the Santee Cooper board closing its meetings without giving sufficient reasons under the state Freedom of Information Act.

Now the board wants even more latitude to discuss its financial condition in private, outside the hearing of its owners.

Every state official should tell the utility to back away from this proposal. If it is made to the General Assembly, lawmakers should reject it.

The only way to generate public trust in institutions, from city governments to state agencies, is to deal transparently with public money -- to handle it openly and allow the public complete access to financial records.

Any attempt to hide public business, especially audit results, will generate suspicion and undermine the ability of any public body to do its work.