Public Has A Right to Government Information(posted Oct 11) The public has a right to know what their government is doing through the open door law and access to public records. Steve Key of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government explained to the Speedway Merchants Association members that much of the public is not aware these laws exist until they are denied. The Speedway Merchants Association is a grassroots effort to protect and to promote existing and new businesses in Speedway. The association was formed in response to the Speedway Redevelopment Commission's Main Street acquisition list. The owners have concerns about being forced out of their locations to make way for a revised Main Street multi-use theme. Indiana Coalition for Open Government is a citizen based group to advocate for open government. The coalition is to "raise the public's voice." Key explained that when government fails to provide information or does not conduct meetings in accordance with statute, the public becomes the enforcement body, not the police or prosecutor. The public has to care about their rights to an open government. Key explained the public has some recourse against a government agency that denies access by contacting the Indiana Public Access Counselor, a position created under the O'Bannon administration. Public Access Counselor Heather Willis Neal serves as an educator and an advisor. The position has no enforcement powers. It can only give advisory opinions to governments that have defied the open door law and or public access laws. When the public access counselor receives a formal or informal complaint, she contacts both parties to assess the situation and then determines an advisory opinion. Key explained most government officials simply do not know the law and want to do what is right. However, there is always the defiant few that ignore the advisory opinion and contend the records are not available for public inspection. He said some government agencies like to make it difficult to obtain the information. At that point, the public needs to determine if they want to challenge the denial in the court system. He explained that an attorney would look at the public access counselor's advisory opinion as a strong indicator about the success of winning the case. He noted if the judge sides with the plaintiff, the judge can order the government agency to pay for the reasonable attorney fees. |
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