Getting savvy about public records saves everyone a bundle
By Deborah W. Fisher, Executive Director, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government It was a year ago in February when the Department of Children’s Services announced it would charge a coalition of news organizations $55,484 to make copies of child fatality records. The sticker shock was a low moment for open government advocates. DCS included 1,800 hours of staff time in its estimate. But instead of discouraging citizen engagement in their government, the court fight over DCS records and excessive costs should be a signal for citizens and journalists to be proactive and work through their tangles with public officials on local levels when it comes to access to public records. In [...]