Some quasi-governmental groups not covered by Miss. sunshine laws

TUPELO -- Just because an organization "looks" like it's a public agency, it may not be.

And if it isn't a public agency, it's not obligated to be open in any way. That's the way Mississippi's laws read as they address issues of open meetings and open records.

What kind of agencies are we talking about?

• Nonprofit community action agencies.

• Nonprofit community development foundations.

• County councils of government.

• Multistate or regional bodies.

• Public and private hospital boards and committees.

• Law enforcement officials.

• Public community college and university foundations.

Those are just a few types of organizations that look "public" but are not.

In Lee County, where Tupelo is the county seat, the Community Development Foundation and its associated Council of Governments get public attention and make public impacts, operating outside the view of the general public.

The CDF is widely heralded as a major player in the region's landing Toyota Motor Corp., which is building a manufacturing plant northwest of Tupelo. CDF has 1,100 members and some of its officers are elected officials.

But CDF's business doesn't belong to the public, even though its impact does. It's a nonprofit membership organization. If you want to know CDF's inner workings, you can't, except for public pronouncements and internally produced publications.

Lee County's Council of Governments, a child of CDF, works much the same way although it is less formally organized. Mayors and other officials from the county and its municipalities meet regularly to discuss significant issues of common interest, such as zoning or housing or law enforcement.

Organizations like this can do a lot of good, their members say, despite and because of their closed doors.

"CDF is set up to protect client confidentiality," said David Rumbarger, CDF's chief executive officer. "We don't spend public money that hasn't already gone through the public process."

He means the public money CDF receives was discussed and vetted at public meetings of local city councils or the Board of Supervisors.

Elected officials are ex-officio members of CDF's board of directors and have a voice in its decision-making, Rumbarger explained.

Officially, its legal footings lie in its nonprofit corporation status through the Mississippi secretary of state's office.

Organized in 1948, CDF has had plenty of time to respond to any criticism about its operating structure.