BELLE — The Maries County Advocate submitted a series of questions to Belle Mayor James (Pudd) Mitchell and each member of the Belle Board of Aldermen June 25 seeking their perspectives on communication, transparency and the relationship between City Hall, local media and the public.

The requests were sent through City Clerk Cindy Barbarick, asking that they be forwarded to the mayor and each alderman. The newspaper invited officials to respond directly in writing or by any other method they preferred.

The inquiry follows a recent conversation between Mitchell and The Advocate during which the mayor said information gets “twisted around in the paper.” Mitchell also said he was aware of several positive developments taking place in Belle but was not going to share them with the newspaper.

Those comments prompted The Advocate to seek additional clarification from the mayor while also requesting the views of every elected member of the Belle Board of Aldermen in an effort to present a broad range of perspectives rather than relying on a single viewpoint.

Questions submitted to Mitchell ask him to identify specific examples of reporting he believes was inaccurate and never corrected, explain why the city has not sought formal corrections if inaccuracies exist, discuss whether elected officials have a responsibility to communicate with local media even when they disagree with coverage and address whether the city has any formal or informal policy governing communication with The Advocate.

Additional questions ask why important public notices, including water-related announcements, are frequently posted on social media without also being provided to the local newspaper, whether residents who do not use Facebook receive adequate information and whether Mitchell supports routinely providing news releases or email notifications to local media regarding city business.

The newspaper also asked Mitchell why he chose not to share what he described as positive developments occurring within the city, whether transparency should include information that reflects positively on city government as well as controversial matters and what steps could improve communication between City Hall and local media.

The questions submitted to aldermen focus more broadly on communication between City Hall and Belle residents, the city’s overall transparency and the role local media plays in informing the public.

Aldermen were asked whether they believe city officials have a responsibility to communicate with the press, whether important public notices should routinely be shared with local media in addition to social media, whether residents receive enough information to stay informed about city business and what improvements they believe could strengthen public trust.

Board members were also asked whether they have ever felt discouraged from speaking with The Advocate, whether disagreements between city officials and residents should affect the flow of public information and whether transparency requires sharing both positive and negative information about city government.

In both letters, The Advocate emphasized that its goal is to accurately present the perspectives of city officials and ensure readers receive a complete understanding of the issues surrounding communication and transparency.

As of press time at 10 a.m. June 30, no responses had been received.