Understanding what information is for the public’s eyes and how to get it can be a daunting task.
Ideally public records would always be open to the public. Once a year, The Herald takes a look at the reality of access to records during Sunshine Week.
In honor of Sunshine Week, a few local residents shared their experiences about getting information from the cities they live in.
Sometimes the experience has been positive and other times it has been frustrating.
But they have all had the same mission — trying to get public information.
John Knutsen
One of the big reasons John Knutsen ran for the Puyallup City Council was that he felt the public was not getting information that was rightfully theirs.
“I think the city falls far short,” Knutsen said. “That’s why I decided to run — to shine light on the city council.”
Before he started his term as a council member this past January, he would often request information from the city.
One example was an attempt to get documentation of the top paid officials in the city. His request was denied, because the city said that would require them creating a document, which is something the law doesn’t require them to do.
“I realized that they didn’t want to put it out,” Knutsen said. “They were using the ‘letter of the law.’
“It defeats the ‘spirit of the law,’” he said, by using the law to keep public information from the public.
When he worked for the Tacoma Police Department he was in charge of releasing information. Every document that was requested came across his desk.
If someone had a right to it, he would release it.
“I didn’t care who asked for it or why they asked for it,” he said.
It’s public information and should be easily accessible, Knutsen said.
Even as a council member his attempts to get information hasn’t been any easier, he said.
Since taking office, he has continued filing requests for information from the city. One instance, through a public disclosure form, he requested information about the last five properties the city has purchased in downtown.
Again the response was delayed and he felt the city was trying to discourage him from getting information.
It’s a problem in Puyallup that has gone on for too long, he said. Public information should be readily available for all, he added.
“I am 100 percent for open everything,” Knutsen said.
The only way he sees the problem being solved is a majority council that demands transparency and follows through on that demand.
“How can we shine light if the light isn’t shined on us?” he said. “We should demand that light shine on the council.”
Sara Hoime
The possibility of a chemical plant coming into Sumner started resident Sara Hoime searching for any information she could get her hands on.
“I’ve been mostly interested in information about the Northstar chemical plant,” she said.
She wasn’t quite sure what she was able to get and what had some sort of privilege. So she asked the city clerk and there was more available than she thought.
“Once you start wading into it, it kind of grows,” Hoime said. “It is kind of amazing what is available once you start asking.”
She has found getting information from the city of Sumner to be an easy task.
“It’s been excellent,” she said.
It can be time consuming to go down to the city clerk’s office to fill out a public records request. But instead of being deterred, Hoime said the city sent her the form via e-mail so she could just fill it out and send it back.
And the city has been prompt in responding to her requests. Usually it only takes them a couple of days, she said.
Because the city staff has given her the opportunity to look through large documents to find exactly what pages she wants copies of, the cost has been manageable, she said.
The experience has left her pleased with her city’s accessibility to records.
“I wish more people would take advantage of it,” Hoime said.
Robert Lord
Getting public information from the city of Puyallup has not been a positive experience for resident Robert Lord.
“They promise it to you but you don’t get any results,” he said. “The city government, I feel, falls sort when it comes to open government.”
City officials use the law to find ways to delay a person from getting information, Lord said. It’s a tactic to discourage residents from following through with their requests, he said.
He’s had many public disclosure requests throughout the years. The most recent being a matter of weeks ago. In one of he attempts to get public information, he requested information about the city’s settlement with Puyallup Police Department employees.
That was more than six weeks ago, he said. The city first gave its standard two weeks to respond after his initial request, he said. From there, they can either provide the information, deny it based on the not having to produce a document they don’t have or give a time frame for when they will provide the it.
Thirteen days after his request he received a letter from a city paralegal stating they would need four more weeks to compile the information.
Since then, he’s contacted the city twice to check the status of his request.
“The first time they told me they hadn’t even started,” Lord said.
It’s a “lulling tactic,” he said. Lord is still waiting for the information, as the time frame the city set passes.
“(Staff) uses an inordinate amount of time to find this information when some of it is right there at their fingertips,” Lord said. “They don’t seem to abide by the deadlines they have set.”
He feels the only solution to the problem is a change in he city council, with a majority of council that demands for open government.
“I don’t feel we have open government (in Puyallup),” Lord said.
Print
E-Mail