June 9, 2005

EDITORIAL

Improve access to public records

A bill designed to improve and strengthen Ohio’s public records law is being held up by a Cincinnati Republican, who is developing a laundry list of specious issues with the proposal. Such stonewalling hinders the ability of citizens to view and obtain copies of public documents, and undermines the public’s trust in government.

House Representative Bill Seitz is taking issue with House Bill 9, which is sponsored by Representative Scott Oelslager, a Republican from Canton. Among Rep. Seitz’s criticisms of HB 9 is a provision that would require local and statewide elected officials to receive training about public records every two years. He argues that the staffers of public offices should be the ones receiving the training because they are more likely to handle the records. During a meeting last month, Rep. Seitz, the chairman of the House Civil and Commercial Law Committee, reportedly said, “I will not let any bill get out of this committee that mandates public records training for all elected officials.”

However, recent encounters the News had with the Yellow Springs school board show that elected officials would benefit from records training. In one instance, the board president, Rick Bullock, asserted that a written proposal about hiring a new superintendent was confidential, calling the document an internal memorandum. In another incident, school board member Richard Lapedes, in an interview with the News, claimed that school district employees’ salary information should not be released to the public because such information is related to personnel issues.

Both men, of course, were wrong. Any memo from a public official, including elected school board members, is a public document and should be available for public review. And information about public employees’ compensation are public records and can be requested by any member of the public. The point here is not to single out these officials, but to show that even intelligent people make mistakes and elected officials can benefit from regular records training.

From school board members to township trustees to county commissioners, elected officials create public records all the time, and they need to understand the Public Records Law as well as staffers who normally handle requests for documents. The more officials who comprehend — and follow — this important law, the better governments will serve their constituents.

HB 9 does more than establish mandatory training for elected officials. It would require that a public office adopt a policy for responding to records requests and that an office have available for review a copy of its records retention policy. The bill also would prohibit public offices from requiring someone who is requesting a record to identify himself or state why he wants the record. In addition, the bill would establish financial penalties for governments that do not follow the law.

The bill, which has the backing of the Ohio attorney general’s office, was introduced after public offices fulfilled only 52 percent of requests for public records during a statewide audit last year. The audit, which was organized by Ohio media organizations, clearly showed that changes are needed in how public offices view and handle public records.

Government officials should be well-versed in the handling of records. When public officials provide public information without hassle, they increase the public’s confidence in government, encourage citizens to participate in governmental activities and help members of the public better understand what governments are doing on their behalf. Increasing a community’s role in government is something that all public officials, especially those who are elected, should endeavor to support.

—Robert Mihalek