Adopting an open data policy significantly reduces the number of public record requests that cities receive compared to cities that lack an open data policy. This was the major finding of a study I set out to conduct earlier this summer, to understand the relationship between the growth of open data policies and longstanding freedom of information laws. […]
Read More… from Research: Cities can save time on records requests by doing open data right
Email records obtained by the Star-Tribune through FOIA requests from Pittsylvania County Department of Social Services Director Sherry Flanagan from August 2017 indicated Flanagan was ‘fearful’ of county administrator David Smitherman and worried her board would be eliminated. On August 15, 2017, Brenda Robertson, Administrative Assistant/Legal Assistant for County Attorney Vaden Hunt emailed Flanagan to, “please forward […]
Read More… from FOIA emails show concern about Pittsylvania County (VA) DSS board
While much media attention is focused on federal government secrecy, secretive practices of state and local governments often get less scrutiny but frequently have a more immediate impact on communities.
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Read More… from Local governments hide public records, face few consequences
Perhaps no other process of government that has such a significant impact on people’s lives is as opaque and less understood as establishing the rules for land use.
To systematically evaluate how land use decisions get made and how they might impact people and communities, more transparency and data is needed around the local zoning process. Continue…
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Read More… from Editorial: Can transparency, open data help fix the land zoning process?
The head of a local open government group called on Governor Markell to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests for information about a "secret" state email account.
Delaware Coalition for Open Government president John Flaherty told WDEL News the Freedom of Information Act itself requires transparency on the part of elected officials conducting government business.
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Legislation allowing local governments to charge fees for access to public records was pulled from debate this session for summer study designed to prepare a comprehensive open records bill.
State Sen. Jim Tracy, a Bedford County Republican who sponsored the measure, took the bill off notice recently after holding several meetings with interested groups such as Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and Tennessee Press Association.
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Read More… from Tennessee Sen. Jim Tracy sends open records bill to summer study
As former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clintonís use of a personal email account has recently come under scrutiny, Charlottesville Tomorrow has evaluated the email practices of Charlottesvilleís City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.
Two of the 11 elected officials on these bodies advertise personal email addresses on their government website, and neither locality has made it a practice to routinely archive communications from personal email accounts.
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Read More… from Local government officials make use of private email systems
