I've been following this thread with great interest. We receive a variety of FOIA requests - some for legitimate need to know, some for media stories, and some from citizens who basically want us to do their work for them. A good example is the yearly request from various "work from home" folks to compile lists of unrefunded deposits sitting in government accounts so they can provide this information to the depositors for a fee as "forgotten" funds they are entitled to collect. While some unrefunded deposits are "forgotten" funds, the majority are deposits that have not yet met the refund conditions. Yet, every year we (as well as several other City departments) receive 4 or 5 FOIA requests from various folks to compile this information into a spreadsheet and forward the results to them. The way the Virginia law is worded, we must comply. The good news is, we've done this for several years now and have a spreadsheet ready at the beginning of each year.
Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of John Phillips
Sent: Friday, March 15, 2013 10:29 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Transparency and Opinion
Re: Dwight's statement about "... On the other hand, rarely is transparency seen for what it actually is: an important part of checks and balances, often represented in law, other times something aspired to...." etc.
Nice post. It captures the essence of the push-pull that will always be a part of the ongoing relationship between the public's right-to-know and the need of government employees to budget for demanded activities while also simply getting their jobs done. Debating this issue on what is or is not adequate "openness" has been going on for much of US history, with allegations of political motivations very common.
Only "open discussion" can inform and educate about "open records."
John
***************************
John Phillips
Information Technology Decisions
www.infotechdecisions.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dwight WALLIS
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 12:56 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Transparency and Opinion
Chris Flynn wrote:
>One, you don't bring your personal politics to work.
Two, you remain neutral within your orgainization.
This is excellent advice, Chris (Dr. Rhoads - there's a name I haven't heard for a long time!).
The second point in particular has been a key to the success of our program.
And, yes, you are correct - at time it has been hard to maintain, particularly if the given leadership at the time wants to enroll you in inter-agency politics.
Regarding one, I hope, once I retire, to engage in advocacy of the kind I have not felt comfortable with while working as a public servant.
Transparency is the area I'm considering as a focus, particularly as it relates to support for public records programs.
Transparency is a difficult issue. On the one hand, I think elected officials and private leaders have some legitimate concerns about the ability to engage in the normal give and take associated with decision making without the fear that every opinion will end up in the press. There are also costs associated with providing transparency. In addition, transparency often runs the risk of infringing on privacy rights (as reflected in the recent exchange on this listserv relating to gun records).
This is particularly true when transparency is defined primarily as an element of press access, rather than public access.
On the other hand, rarely is transparency seen for what it actually is: an important part of checks and balances, often represented in law, other times something aspired to. How much of the public or press, do you think, recognize the importance of retention as it relates to transparency? How does time or technology impact transparency? What happens when transparency is "stolen", aka Wikileaks, or the Murdoch press in Great Britain? If stealing transparency results in positive change, was it wrong, and what does that say about existing structures of transparency? Finally, in a world dominated by global institutions of various stripes, where does corporate transparency fit - is it a right of global citizenship? A corporate obligation? A burdensome government regulation? Most importantly (and this is where I have found the greatest difficulty associated with this issue) - who gets to define it?
Its this last question that demands a more concerted focus of advocacy globally. All too often, decisions regarding transparency reflect the fox guarding the chicken coop. And, in my opinion, in a world dominated by a corporate/highly politicized press, we can no longer rely on the press to be effective advocates for this issue, as they see transparency as something "owned", not "shared". This really needs to be seen as a right of citizenship, offering the average citizen (regardless of political stripe) the only opportunity she or he has outside of his or her vote/buying decision to hold our leaders (public and private) accountable.
Locally - the level of advocacy I aspire to - transparency starts with simply pointing out the large gap between the transparency needed, and the support infrastructure funded. When requesting a simple, commonly requested record leads you to a website that has inaccurate phone contact information, which then leads to phone numbers that go unanswered for days, and, once answered are staffed by overworked individuals who then pass the buck to other overworked individuals - something is seriously amiss.
--
Dwight Wallis, CRM
Multnomah County Records Management & Distribution Services Manager
1620 SE 190th Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
ph: Records- (503)988-3741
ph: Distribution - (503)988-3533, x29131
cell: (503)260-2263
fax: (503)988-3754
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