Transparency News 11/4/16
Friday, November 4, 2016
State and Local Stories
VCOG Annual Conference Panel Preview:
Proactive disclosure —- as we transition from an ask-and-receive model of data access to an on-demand one, how will governments strike the balance between what data it chooses to release and what data the public wants?
Register for or support the conference
The Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority (PRHA) is answering 10 On Your Side’s questions dealing with legal fees and how much they have cost taxpayers. Last week, WAVY sent PRHA a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to learn more about their legal fees, and how much the federal government refused to pay because the fees were too high and/or improperly bid. From June 2015 though October 26, 2016, of PRHA legal fees of $383,000, federal sources through HUD would only pay about $170,000, and that is only 44 percent of the total. PRHA had to come up with over $213,000, or 56 percent, from other pockets of their scarce, precious money. That shocked Kloeppel.
WAVY
The administration of Mayor Dwight C. Jones on Thursday announced the filing — 11 months late — of a mandatory annual financial report to the state wielded in recent years by his detractors as a reoccurring symbol of municipal dysfunction. The audited, technical snapshot of Richmond finances was due to the state Auditor of Public Accounts last November; the report was submitted Oct. 31, according to a release.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
National Stories
A lawyer for North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory told the state Court of Appeals Tuesday morning that the state should be immune from any judgment finding the current administration either cannot or does not comply with open records requests in a timely manner, as alleged by a coalition of media groups. In addition to suing for access to particular public records, the coalition has asked the courts to order state officials to adjust their practices so that records more swiftly become available, in keeping with the law's admonition that records should be brought forth "as soon as practicable." But David Wright III, a lawyer representing the administration in the matter, said the state should have "sovereign immunity" from the claims, invoking a legal tradition that citizens can't sue the state unless they have been expressly allowed to do so by law. In this case, Wright said, the media coalition can sue for specific records but not to change the administration's pattern and practice. The legislature, he said, provided for no such legal remedy.
WRAL
Editorials/Columns
Perhaps our pitch sounded better during the dawn of summer, with school out and city elections nearly five months away. But Richmond Superintendent Dana Bedden embraced the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s plan to embed in several Richmond Public Schools for this school year to spotlight successes and challenges. I’m here today to tell you that, despite our best efforts, the project will not be moving forward. Whatever the reason, the perceived lack of transparency is not a good look. We had embarked on this project to shine a light on the real challenges facing public education in Richmond, as seen through the eyes of students and families who have entrusted their fate to the beleaguered school district. We had hoped our project might help highlight education as an issue during the mayoral election. Instead, the election will come and go without us in the classroom.
Michael Paul William, Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Orange County Board of Supervisors continue to illustrate how it’s still possible for elected officials to work together in the spirit of compromise for the mutual benefit of their citizens. At a time when government—particularly at the national level—seems dysfunctional, obstructionist and out of touch with the electorate, it’s encouraging to know our voices are still being heard, acknowledged and applied effectively at the local level.
Orange County Review
Proactive disclosure —- as we transition from an ask-and-receive model of data access to an on-demand one, how will governments strike the balance between what data it chooses to release and what data the public wants?
Register for or support the conference
The Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority (PRHA) is answering 10 On Your Side’s questions dealing with legal fees and how much they have cost taxpayers. Last week, WAVY sent PRHA a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to learn more about their legal fees, and how much the federal government refused to pay because the fees were too high and/or improperly bid. From June 2015 though October 26, 2016, of PRHA legal fees of $383,000, federal sources through HUD would only pay about $170,000, and that is only 44 percent of the total. PRHA had to come up with over $213,000, or 56 percent, from other pockets of their scarce, precious money. That shocked Kloeppel.
WAVY
The administration of Mayor Dwight C. Jones on Thursday announced the filing — 11 months late — of a mandatory annual financial report to the state wielded in recent years by his detractors as a reoccurring symbol of municipal dysfunction. The audited, technical snapshot of Richmond finances was due to the state Auditor of Public Accounts last November; the report was submitted Oct. 31, according to a release.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
National Stories
A lawyer for North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory told the state Court of Appeals Tuesday morning that the state should be immune from any judgment finding the current administration either cannot or does not comply with open records requests in a timely manner, as alleged by a coalition of media groups. In addition to suing for access to particular public records, the coalition has asked the courts to order state officials to adjust their practices so that records more swiftly become available, in keeping with the law's admonition that records should be brought forth "as soon as practicable." But David Wright III, a lawyer representing the administration in the matter, said the state should have "sovereign immunity" from the claims, invoking a legal tradition that citizens can't sue the state unless they have been expressly allowed to do so by law. In this case, Wright said, the media coalition can sue for specific records but not to change the administration's pattern and practice. The legislature, he said, provided for no such legal remedy.
WRAL
Editorials/Columns
Perhaps our pitch sounded better during the dawn of summer, with school out and city elections nearly five months away. But Richmond Superintendent Dana Bedden embraced the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s plan to embed in several Richmond Public Schools for this school year to spotlight successes and challenges. I’m here today to tell you that, despite our best efforts, the project will not be moving forward. Whatever the reason, the perceived lack of transparency is not a good look. We had embarked on this project to shine a light on the real challenges facing public education in Richmond, as seen through the eyes of students and families who have entrusted their fate to the beleaguered school district. We had hoped our project might help highlight education as an issue during the mayoral election. Instead, the election will come and go without us in the classroom.
Michael Paul William, Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Orange County Board of Supervisors continue to illustrate how it’s still possible for elected officials to work together in the spirit of compromise for the mutual benefit of their citizens. At a time when government—particularly at the national level—seems dysfunctional, obstructionist and out of touch with the electorate, it’s encouraging to know our voices are still being heard, acknowledged and applied effectively at the local level.
Orange County Review
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