News - Page 67 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

13 Dec, 2016

The Daily Times: Model records policy should not aid wallbuilders, suggest loopholes

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-13T08:01:48-06:00December 13, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel|Tags: model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, public records requests, requests by email, The Daily Times|0 Comments

We should listen to journalists in the field when it comes to access to public records. Buzz Trexler, editor at The Daily Times in Maryville, reminds me of a question I was once asked in a TV interview: What's the hardest public record to get? My answer: The record a government official doesn't want you to have. Too often, journalists are given the runaround or hit roadblocks when a public official for some reason doesn't want "the media" to have access to some public record, or want to delay news that the public record would convey. My observation has been that citizens, without the support of a media organization behind [...]

12 Dec, 2016

Hendersonville Standard: Legal bills climb to $238K in Sumner Schools public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-12T12:09:12-06:00December 12, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Hendersonville Standard, Ken Jakes, legal bills, Sumner County School Board, Todd Presnell|0 Comments

The Hendersonville Standard recently reported that Sumner County School Board had another $125,237 in legal bills after voting to appeal a public records ruling, bringing the total cost of the case to more than $238,000. The case stemmed from a lawsuit brought by Joelton resident Ken Jakes who requested to see the school district's public records policy. He made the request by email and a followup phone call. The school district denied the request, saying their policy dictated he must make the request in person or through letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. From left: Citizen Ken Jakes and Sumner Schools attorneys Todd Presnell and Jim Fuqua listen [...]

12 Dec, 2016

Public records request reveals county dropped the ball in monitoring PILOT agreements

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-12T11:12:13-06:00December 12, 2016|Categories: economic development|Tags: economic development records, Johnson City Press, PILOTS, Washington County|0 Comments

Ten years ago, two Japanese companies agreed to bring jobs and investment to Washington County if the county gave them 10 years worth of tax breaks on their property, buildings and equipment. To monitor whether the companies met their promised job requirements, they were supposed to file annual job reports. If they fell short of the jobs promise, they lost a proportional amount of that year's tax break. Washington County Industrial Park (Nathan Baker) Sounds reasonable and fair, and the work of government officials trying to look out for the county's best interest. Problem was, the company did not file those annual reports -- at least until this [...]

9 Dec, 2016

Capitol Press Corps asks to discuss closed meetings of Republican caucus

By Deborah Fisher|2016-12-09T17:59:51-06:00December 9, 2016|Categories: Legislature, Open Meetings|Tags: Chas Sisk, legislature, State Rep. Ryan Williams, Tennessee Capitol Press Corps, Tennessee Constitution, Tennessee Open Meetings Act|0 Comments

The Capitol Press Corp has requested to meet with the House's Republican Caucus Chair, Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, to discuss an apparent change in policy where journalists are no longer allowed to cover caucus meetings. Chas Sisk, chairman of the Capitol Press Corps “Past practice — especially since Republicans gained supermajority status — has been that the meetings are open unless closed by caucus vote. If that is to change, we think it’s important for both sides to understand the rules of the road going forward,” wrote Chas Sisk, news reporter for WPLN and chairman of the Tennessee Capitol Press Corps, in a letter to Williams. “…Our fundamental concern is [...]

8 Dec, 2016

Read TCOG’s comments on proposed model public records policy

By Deborah Fisher|2017-02-20T09:04:33-06:00December 8, 2016|Categories: Office of Open Records Counsel, requests, TCOG letters, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Adam Yeomans, Advisory Committee on Open Government, Ann Butterworth, citizen id, model public records policy, Office of Open Records Counsel, open data, public records requests, requests by email, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news|0 Comments

TCOG Letter on Model Public Records Policy 12-7-16 Tennessee Coalition for Open Government provided written feedback Wednesday on the Office of Open Records Counsel's proposed "Best Practices & Guidelines and Model Public Records Policy." This policy is important because it is intended as a model for all government entities in the state as they move to adopt public records policies as required by a new law. Parts of the guidelines and model policy are beneficial to citizens and government entities -- such as an emphasis on the statutory requirement that public records requests be handled promptly. Adam Yeomans is TCOG's representative on the Advisory Committee on Open Government. He is [...]