This week the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition released the results of a public records audit it performed in May.
On the day of the audit, auditors visited 89 town offices, 40 police departments and 44 school superintendent’s offices, including those in Westbrook and Gorham. The purpose of the visits was to test how officials handled requests for information that, according to Maine law, are public records.
Auditors asked for an overview of all attorney’s fees paid in 2005, a record of unpaid tax liens, a copy of the school district’s crisis response plan and a copy of the police department’s pursuit policy.
Under the law, public records are supposed to be released within five days of a request. In some cases, the public is required to fill written requests for the documents. In those cases, a written reason is required if the request is denied.
The results of the audit statewide were disappointing. More than half (59 percent) of the requests for tax liens were honored and just 65 percent of the municipalities provided the 2005 attorney’s fees. Sixty five percent of school departments honored requests to view copies of the district’s crisis response plan. Police departments fared the best in the audit, with 70 percent complying with requests to view the department’s pursuit policy.
Locally, Gorham and Westbrook fared well. Auditors were successful in obtaining all of the requested information, although auditors were asked for written requests in Gorham and a Westbrook school official, while providing a copy of the crisis response policy, told an auditor each building had its own plan and the school would not release that information to “just anybody.”
It’s heartening to see Westbrook and Gorham are making sure residents have access to public information. The school’s reaction is understandable, because as Harry Pringle, a lawyer with Drummond, Woodsum and MacMahon of Portland, the firm that represents the Maine School Management Association, said the schools have to balance the public’s right to know with protecting its students.
While Westbrook and Gorham scored well in the audit, the fact that so many requests for public information were denied is a concern.
And it’s not just a concern for newspapers, it should be a concern for everyone. For many people, the media is the sole conduit they have to what’s going on in their city, town, state or federal government. And if the newspaper is unable to provide that information, the public has no way of keeping tabs on public officials.
But it goes far beyond making sure the newspaper has access to public information. Any person should be able to able to check for themselves how their city or town is being run and how public officials are spending residents’ tax dollars.
“There’s nothing more fundamental in democracy than understanding why your government is doing ‘x’ instead of ‘y,'” said Mal Leary, the president of the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition.
Two hundred and thirty years ago this week, a group of men met in Philadelphia to form a country based on freedom and liberty. Over two centuries later, Americans still pride themselves on the principals set forth by the founding fathers on July 4, 1776.
That’s why it’s important to protect the public’s right to information. Maintaining an open line of communication between government and the people is the best way to ensure that Americans are still celebrating the same liberties and freedoms 200 years from now.
Mike Higgins, assistant editor
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