Emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic can prompt heroism and /or just swift action by individuals, businesses and government.

It’s too early to weigh how well local government has been performing in the crisis, but Deschutes County government has seemed to be transparent, informative and professional.

We are concerned, though, about an incident earlier this week to reschedule a public hearing before the Deschutes County Commission — with less than two hours public notice.

Was it an emergency?

Not in the general definition of that word. And while County Administrator Tom Anderson has assured us this was an isolated incident, we want to publicize it in case it becomes a very bad habit.

First of all, in terms of proportion, this particular episode seems minor. County commissioners did not spend a pile of money or make a significant policy change that will change the lives of many county residents. It was an annexation of two properties into the River Forest Acres Road District. The property owners wanted to be added to the district. The district wanted them to be added. If the county could take action to approve it by March 31, there is greater likelihood the decision could move through the bureaucratic hoops quick enough to be in effect for the March 2020 tax rolls.

Anderson told us the concern was that Gov. Kate Brown might issue a strict order that would prevent the March 25th meeting of the county commissioners — when the public hearing was originally scheduled — from occurring. So the decision was made to move the public hearing to Monday’s commission meeting to attempt to squeeze it in. The motivation was nothing sneaky. It was the county government making an effort to work better for the people it serves.

The trouble is — in general — public meetings are supposed to have 24 hours notice. That’s so the public can know what its government is doing and comment or attend. Imagine for a moment that someone in the area had a concern about this annexation. Would they have known that the meeting time had changed?

We are not aware of any victims in the quick switch of this public hearing. In fact, the county arguably only made things better for everyone involved. Remember, though, when governments cut corners in telling the public what they are doing and when, they are cheating the public out of an opportunity to have input into a decision. It may be inconsequential in this incident. It won’t be if it continues to happen.