Public employees asked to provide common records during a statewide test of Ohio's open records laws in April followed the law in nine of every 10 requests, according to audit results that found much higher compliance than a similar survey a decade ago.
Records requested included meeting minutes, restaurant inspections, birth records, a mayor's expense report, school superintendents' pay, police chief pay, and police incident reports. "It's a meaningful improvement over what was found 10 years ago," said Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association.
The audit was sponsored by the Ohio Coalition for Open Government of ONA. It began April 21, and, in most counties, was completed within days. Newspaper, television and radio reporters served as auditors in all 88 Ohio counties. Auditors didn't identify themselves as reporters when making requests to ensure the same experience as a typical citizen seeking public records. Continue>>>
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