A $20 million increase in the cost of Oak Harbor’s sewage treatment plant took Oak Harbor Mayor Bob Severns and council members by surprise.

Severns was critical of city staff for not relaying the information to elected officials, even though it had been known for months. He pointed to poor communication as the problem.

Good communication, however, starts at the top and must extend to the public. Over the past few years, we’ve seen what appears to be a sense of secrecy that pervades some city departments. Telephone calls for comment on news of interest to Oak Harbor citizens often go unanswered. Documents are guarded. Some city officials must even obtain permission to speak to the news media.

Doug Merriman is no longer the city administrator, but Severns hasn’t told the public why he’s gone or even if he received a severance package. Many have assumed it is related to the cost increase of the sewage treatment plant, but that may not be the case.

Do the people of Oak Harbor have a right to know the reasons why Merriman is gone? Of course they do. Now, people are wondering who is running the city.

This lack of transparency only feeds into a culture of growing government mistrust. Previously, Severns didn’t have any compunction in discussing his decision to fire the police chief. It’s unclear what has changed.

Severns was open about the sewage treatment plan’s increased cost and his concerns about the way it’s been handled.

The mayor hasn’t sugarcoated the bitter pill but admits he has questions like the rest of the citizens. He even pointed out that the city’s plant will cost three or four times what a similar plant cost just eight years ago.

That is an astonishing cost overrun, and people are wondering why.

The mayor said he will hire an outside firm to review the sewage treatment plant project. We commend him on this plan and urge him to share the findings with the public as fully and quickly as possible.

A culture of secrecy and lack of transparency have no place in government, local or otherwise.