Story originally printed in the Vernon Broadcaster or online at www.vernonbroadcaster.com
Published - Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Public information audit to gauge ‘openness’
Nine years ago newspapers around the state collaborated to participate in an audit of local government officials to see how officials complied with Wisconsin's Open Records Law.
The results were not pretty -- only 14 of the state's 72 counties fully complied with the record requests.
That was in 1999. So how are we doing now?
The answer to that will be determined in a couple of months, as newspapers around the state -- including this one -- will participate in a follow-up audit.
Some of the criticism of the first audit from some our local officials was that some of the requests were not clear and the information was later disclosed. Officials also said they comply fully with the Open Records Law and we caught them on an off day, with the intention of a "gotcha" story.
Generally speaking, this paper has good relationships with our local officials, who comply with open records. And we do not hesitate to apply the pressure if an open record is being suppressed. That's part of our job in upholding the public's right to know.
But that right to know should not be just for newspaper reporters. It applies to any citizen. That's why we're participating in this audit and that's why I'm giving all local government entities a heads up so we can't be accused of a sneak attack.
Sometimes under-informed public officials are not familiar with the Open Records Law and deny access. This is more common in smaller municipalities where the jobs are part-time and officials don't have time to memorize all of the state statutes. We understand that, but as the old saying goes, ignorance of the law excuses no man.
Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is holding another series of public records and open meetings seminars across the state this fall. The seminars are free and we encourage any government officials or citizens to attend.
"Open meetings and public records (are) an essential component of effective citizen oversight of the workings of our democratic government," Van Hollen said. "Raising awareness, sharing information, and promoting compliance with open meetings and public records law is part of the ongoing mission of the Department of Justice."
It's vital in a democracy that citizens are informed. It was with this intent that the 1981 Open Records Law was passed in the first place. This was spelled out in a declaration of policy which explained the purpose of the law.
"In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the public policy of the state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them."
Look for results of our local audit in an upcoming issue of the Vernon County Broadcaster.
All stories copyright 2006 Vernon Broadcaster and other attributed sources.