A government agency is set to vote on a contract that involves billions -- yes, billions with a B -- of your tax dollars -- but you apparently have no right to know how much money is involved or the terms of the contract.

That's the word from The Chronicle's Rosanna Ruiz, who says the Houston Metro board is doing just that -- voting on a still-secret contract -- on proposed additional light rail lines:

Board President David Wolff on Tuesday defended the agency’s silence, saying negotiations with its builder, Parsons Transportation Group, likely will continue up until Wednesday’s meeting and that the terms of the contract also are likely to change.

Metro spokesman George Smalley today declined to disclose any details of the pending agreement, saying it still was being negotiated.

That's baloney, and I appreciate Ms. Ruiz giving me a chance to sound off in her story today.

That contract, folks, isn't just with Metro. It's a contract with you and me. We, the people of Houston, collectively, have given Metro authority to make decisions in our name, in our best interests, and with our tax dollars. We are Metro, and Metro is us. They work for us. Not the other way around. They should have to hear what we have to say to them -- and, whatever our views are, they should take those into consideration when they vote on that contract. Not after it.

(And no one should think that such disclosure would scare off the contractor -- Parsons is a huge firm that does work with municipalities and government agencies all across the nation. If they claim they aren't used to cutting deals like this in public, they're fibbing.)

Light rail has been controversial in Houston -- I've met some folks who really want it, and I've met some folks who really don't want it. However you feel about it, hey, that's cool by me. But you absolutely should have a right to know about contracts that public officials are voting on and to make your feelings known to those officials before they vote.

Light rail on Main Street: Picture by flickr user eschipul, used via the Creative Commons license.

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