The public should be outraged, a lawmaker said.

The public should be outraged, a lawmaker said.
By JOANNE HUIST SMITH
DAYTON DAILY NEWS
DAYTON -- Outrage. Disappointment. Concern.
Ohio legislators, state officials and government watchdog groups say the results of an audit of access to public records in Ohio merit action.
Auditors requesting information from local governments, police and school districts recently were denied unconditional and prompt access to routine records nearly half of the time.
"It would be my hope that the public becomes outraged. These are the people's records. These records were paid for with tax dollars," said House Judiciary Chairman Scott Oelslager, R-Canton.
All counties covered
The audit by the Ohio Coalition for Open Government took place April 21, though some auditors sought records near that date. More than 90 people from 42 newspapers, The Associated Press, two radio stations and two colleges asked to see public records in all of Ohio's 88 counties. The coalition was established by the Ohio Newspaper Association, a trade organization that represents 83 daily and 163 weekly newspapers.
Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro said that while many county and local governments operate with minimal resources, their obligation to respond to residents' requests for public information does not disappear because of their size or staffing.
"The records requested in this audit are clearly public in nature and, when available, should have been provided in a timely manner," Petro said. "I am a firm believer that our democracy thrives, in part, because of the openness of government."
The records sought included minutes from the most recent county commissioners' meeting. In each county seat, auditors asked for the mayor's or city council president's expense report, the school superintendent's and police chief's salaries and the school treasurer's most recent telephone bill. Auditors also asked for police incident reports from the most recent shift available and to get one copy.
Denials abound
In 4 percent of the 491 requests, local government or school officials claimed the document sought was not a public record. Auditors were denied the records in a timely manner almost 16 percent of the time.
"These results are pathetic, especially when the records requested are noncontroversial, definitely open public records," Oelslager said.
Oelslager, an advocate for open government, worked with Common Cause of Ohio in 1993 to develop legislation expanding the state's open records law. He wanted to make it easier and less costly for Ohio residents to obtain public records.
The bill neared passage but died in the Senate after interest groups and former Gov. George Voinovich's administration expressed concerns about the cost of implementing the changes and the "undue burden" they could place on state agencies.
"All we can do is keep the efforts up," Oelslager said. "A key to our democracy is the public's right to be informed."
Not surprised
State Rep. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said the audit results were disappointing but not surprising. Like the Ohio Coalition for Open Government auditors, Husted said he does not identify himself when seeking public records. He tries to experience the request process the same as other taxpayers.
"We all need to remember we do work for the public and the things we work on are public information," Husted said.
Some public employees are afraid their bosses will disapprove of their giving out public information, he said. Others think that if they don't respond to the initial request, the person seeking information will just go away, Husted said.
"Everybody needs to do a better job of informing front-line staff in respect to what the law is," he said.
Republican state Sen. Jeff Jacobson of Dayton said the problem with Ohio's current public records' law is that it too often comes down to "one person trying to enforce the law against an entire bureaucracy saying 'no.'"
"You can write all the laws you want, but if you're not the one wanting the information you don't know how the law is being carried out," he said. "We need to ask what, if any, tools people need to do that, that they don't have now?"
Dwight Crum, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Larry Householder, said the audit results were unacceptable.
"We want to review the report and talk to local government groups about the findings," Crum said.
Democratic House Minority Leader Chris Redfern said organizations such as the Ohio Municipal League and the County Commissioners Association of Ohio need to better educate their members on the law.
In the Valley
Many Mahoning Valley state lawmakers say they think the law is clear about public records.
"The fact of the matter is it's state law," said state Rep. Kenneth A. Carano, an Austintown Democrat. "The public records law is clear. It spells it out. There should be no reason whatsoever that people cannot get what they want when they want it."
"It's public business and it's public records," said state Rep. Sylvester Patton, a Youngstown Democrat.
"I think at the local level, that maybe we have some people who don't understand," state Rep. Chuck Blasdel, an East Liverpool Republican, said.
"Here in the Legislature, they constantly remind us what our duties are," Blasdel said. "Whenever somebody asks for something from my office, they get it."
Patton said that even though the public records law doesn't require people to identify themselves to receive public documents, maybe that part of the law should be changed.
"I think a person should identify him or herself as to who they are," Patton said.
State Sen. Marc Dann, a Liberty Township Democrat, has sent letters to majority Republicans who control the Senate asking them for action on a bill he sponsored that would aim to make public records available within 15 days by mail and 10 days to have public records available for pickup.
Current law says the government is required to prepare public records for inspection in a "reasonable" amount of time, and Dann says his bill would, if enacted, define reasonable.
Dann's bill is languishing in the Senate State and Local Government Committee and has had two hearings.
XJeff Ortega, Vindicator correspondent, contributed to this report.