Public Records Archives - Page 54 of 74 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

13 Aug, 2015

Nooga.com: Police body cameras test privacy, transparency

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-13T11:02:12-05:00August 13, 2015|Categories: crime records|Tags: ACLU, Chattanooga, David Morton, nooga.com, police body cameras|0 Comments

Nooga.com's reporter David Morton called me recently about the Chattanooga police chief's concerns about body cameras in Tennessee. His department plans to use them but he's concerned that the video would be public under the Tennessee Public Records Act. The issue is headed for some exposure. A summer study committee of the Legislature will be hearing comments on issues surrounding police body cameras the week of Oct. 19 after two bills were introduced last year that would require body cameras in local police departments and make all video from them confidential. There are some legitimate privacy concerns about the footage, but I urged that we be careful about changing the law [...]

12 Aug, 2015

Hearings on public records fees scheduled for September

By Deborah Fisher|2015-08-18T10:10:18-05:00August 12, 2015|Categories: fees|Tags: Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, fees for public records, Office of Open Records Counsel, TCOG news, Tennessee Press Association|4 Comments

The Office of Open Records Counsel has set public hearings for Sept. 15-17 in Knoxville, Nashville and Jackson to gather input on whether citizens should have to pay local and state government to inspect public records. The hearings on public records fees are being conducted after the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and the Tennessee Press Association opposed bills in the last legislative session that would allow for the first time local governments and state agencies to charge labor fees to provide public records for citizen inspection. Currently, Tennessee law allows citizens free access to inspect public records, but allows charges if the citizen wants copies. TCOG, TPA and other [...]

7 Aug, 2015

New accounting standard to require governments to disclose cost of tax breaks

By Deborah Fisher|2020-11-19T12:24:13-06:00August 7, 2015|Categories: economic development|Tags: Chattanooga, economic development, economic development records, Helen Burns Sharp, Memphis, PILOTS, Shelby County|0 Comments

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board approved a new rule on Monday that requires governments to include in financial statements the value of tax abatements given to companies to spur economic development starting next year. "The results of external research ... suggest that tax abatements are an issue of concern among citizen groups, county board members, and municipal bond analysts, and that each group desires to receive information about the level of abatement activity and the results of the abatement programs," according to GASB. "However, the researchers found relatively few states (six) with statutes requiring any level of external reporting after tax abatements are granted. These findings indicate that there is an important information need that [...]

31 Jul, 2015

Judge says Sumner County Schools denied public records request, but not willful

By Deborah Fisher|2018-11-16T15:14:58-06:00July 31, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: attorneys' fees, Jeremy Johnson, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, litigation, public records request, Sumner County, Sumner County School Board, Todd Presnell|0 Comments

Sumner County Judge Dee David Gay said Thursday in preliminary findings that Sumner County Schools denied a public records request from open government advocate Ken Jakes, but that he heard no proof that showed the district was willful in its actions. Gay said he would make a final ruling in November on whether the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it denied Jakes' request on the basis that he did not follow the local district's requirement that he make the request in person or through the U.S. Postal Service. Jakes had emailed his request, following up with a voice mail, asking in March 2014 to inspect the [...]

29 Jul, 2015

Public records practices of Sumner County Schools under scrutiny at trial

By Deborah Fisher|2015-07-30T05:27:34-05:00July 29, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: Jeremy Johnson, Jim Fuqua, Judge Dee David Gay, Ken Jakes, Kirk Clements, public records request, Sumner County, Sumner County School Board, Todd Presnell|1 Comment

Ken Jakes, an open government advocate and a candidate for an at-large council position on Nashville’s Metro Council, is expected to testify Thursday morning in a public records lawsuit he brought against Sumner County Schools. Jakes sued after making a request in March 2014 to inspect the school district’s public records policy. District officials say his request, though they received it, was not valid because he sent it by email. Jakes also followed up with a phone call and left a voice mail. At issue is whether Sumner County Schools officials can refuse to respond to a public records request if it is received by email. The district’s policy at [...]