San Juan Basin Public Health provides public health services using taxpayer funds. One year ago, the COVID-19 “emergency” allowed the staff to close their offices.

The only way for the public to communicate is through Zoom public meetings held only every 60 days. The public is only allowed to speak. Period. No questions answered. No conversation. They decline requests to meet in person. I was on the phone for the last meeting on Feb. 25.

The agenda stated the public is allowed 3 minutes to speak. I prepared my speech and timed it. Once I was logged into the call, they changed the requirement to only to minutes claiming it was because there were five residents who signed up to speak. Really? They don’t have time for 15 minutes of public input every 60 days? The meeting was held at 9 a.m. in the morning on a weekday, when most people work. They made it clear they would not answer questions or respond in any way. They muted a public speaker mid-sentence. They disabled the chat option I was using to ask questions.

They did not introduce themselves so a caller had no idea who was speaking. SJBPH is successfully distancing itself from the public it is beholden to! Have they forgotten who they work for? During this “emergency” while SJBPH is pushing painful orders on local businesses, schools and churches, we should expect much more. Time to take a closer look at what we’re getting for the money we’re spending.

Marybeth SnyderPagosa Springs