I agree 100% with Mr Whitaker, so I'm going to weigh in quickly before I faint (nudge nudge wink wink).  I work for a government and my colleagues and I are in the process of re-writing our policies and procedures on Public Records Requests.  I can tell you that we take very seriously not only our legal obligations but the obligations we have to the public to provide transparency in government processes and excellent customer service.  Handling public records requests well is the most important interface we have with the public.  I know we're not unique in our attitude because we have reached out to many colleagues around the country to get input as we develop our new policies and procedures.  There's a lot of straw-dog-based indignation being tossed around here that I don't get.  I'm especially sorry to hear that some folks are suggesting inundating government offices with multiple requests... to prove what?  It's frankly just obnoxious.
 
Give me a second to secure my flame-proof vest before signing off...
 
Ken Begley
Metro Regional Government
Portland, Oregon > I do not believe it is a good thing to inundate government offices with> multiple records requests ..solely.. in order to attempt to force the> gov't agency to comply efficiently with laws and policies; with the> potential threat of litigation. It may be counterproductive. The same> applies with records requests designed to influence gov't decisions, or> to be strategic in influencing litigation. > > Any government entity should comply with the applicable laws which> drive their policies and procedures, including good faith efforts and> meeting time deadlines. I know some who struggle with it. However, at> the end of the day if the above-mentioned tactics increase the costs of> government; guess who pays the tab.> > Best regards, Steve> Steven D. Whitaker, CRM> Records Systems Manager; City of Reno> > >>> [log in to unmask] 6/19/2008 10:40 AM >>>> Whatever you think about Don's approach to this, including spamming> this and IIRC other lists, Fred and Gary are spot on. If the records are> public they have to be made available. I follow several open> records/sunshine lists and one of the things they recommend is to> inundate government records offices with requests for public records,> followed up with lawsuits if the entity doesn't comply. > <snip>> > List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html> Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance> To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.> mailto:[log in to unmask]
_________________________________________________________________
The i’m Talkathon starts 6/24/08.  For now, give amongst yourselves.
http://www.imtalkathon.com?source=TXT_EML_WLH_LearnMore_GiveAmongst
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]