NPR Piece on Sunshine Week

In celebration of Sunshine Week, or at least awareness of it, NPR's Ann Fisher covered a piece on the importance of public records and their dispensation.

Listen to this!

It can be found at http://www.wosu.org/allsides/ under Wednesday 3/16 11:00 AM - Open Government

Or, listen here:



This comes just in time after the March Villager was published, well, delivered. But that's another issue.
In the March Villager, the annual report was published including a few remarks in regard to public records requests. (This may be seen here)

The following was stated by Suzanne Coulter, Clerk-Treasurer of Minerva Park:

Although the Village is obligated to honor public records requests and continues to do so, during the last two years, the number of public records requests have become an undue burden on the Village. The Clerk-Treasurer's office alone has spent more than 25 hours answering public records requests – in addition to the many hours spent by the Mayor's Assistant and the Mayor. This costs taxpayer money but more importantly has prevented us from devoting time to other responsibilities or projects. The many hours devoted to public records requests could have been spent seeking grant money to build a new community building.

First, I'd like to "table" the issue of whether or not we need a new community building. Where did that come from? Anyway...

This piece is from Lynn Eisnetrout, Mayor of Minerva Park:

We have been somewhat hampered by an unusual number of public records requests that have consumed a significant amount time of the Clerk-Treasurer, my Assistant, and me. 

Now, when this was brought up in the March Council Meeting, Mayor Eisentrout's answer to a comment about the tone of complaint was "I'm not complaining, I'm stating the facts"

I don't see the purpose of "stating the facts" other than to complain. What good will it do the Clerk-Treasurer or the Mayor to mention this, other than to complain. It's not going to make the public records requests stop, if anything it shines a light on the fact that someone is keeping tabs on what goes on behind closed doors in the community building.

The volume of these records requests comes from the less than up front attitude about what goes on in Minerva Park. As long as people, such as myself, feel as though the government needs to be babysat, records need to be requested.