|
Daytona Beach News Journal Open records are Florida treasures Public records are sort of like the Dalai Lama — you know they’re out there doing good for others, but you never thought they could help you. Many folks believe government records are just for smarty-pants like reporters and attorneys, that they have no bearing on their own life. That ’s not so. Maybe you missed the school board meeting where members discussed how much to pay the new superintendent. You can get a copy of the minutes or an audio tape. Say you want to make sure the contractor working on your house is reputable. You can find out if anyone filed a complaint against him with the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulations. Perhaps you’re curious about the pay rankings of state employees. You might be surprised to learn the governor ranked 2,172nd. The University of Florida’s former president, with a salary of $423,510, came in first. People seem to know more about open meetings — you can bet residents will show up on the night city commissioner’s debate raising property taxes. But public records, which cover everything from minutes of the Halifax Medical Center’s board meetings to your babysitter’s driving history, are the flip side of Florida’s Sunshine Law. Actually, the open records law it’s the older, quietly passed by the Legislature in 1909, assuring access to government records to anyone who wanted to view them. Requiring all government meetings to be open to the public came along in 1967. Information is power. For once, the state can help. Its troves of records can reveal a political candidate’s past and present, whether he ever abused his spouse of if he lives in the district he’s running for. They can tell you how long you’ll have to wait for that road widening to be finished and the cost of the delay to taxpayers. They can tell you how much the director and employees of your favorite charity are paid versus how much they spend on the cause you contributed to. Florida’s innumerable public records can help you in everyday transactions. Let’s say you’re looking to buy a house. Want to know what the homes in a neighborhood cost? Search the county property appraiser’s files. Concerned about environmental conditions? Records in the Department of Environmental Protection can tell you if a landfill was ever nearby. Fearful about local crime? The police department can document felonies in the neighborhood. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement can tell you if a sexual offender lives in the area. Or maybe you’re worried your mom isn’t getting good care at the nursing home she moved into. You can check its rating and record detailing incidents of patient harm at the Agency for Health Care Administration. If you want to know more about her doctor, the Department of Health will tell you if he’s paid a patient for malpractice. If you just want to make sure the physician is following the basic standard of care to treat her condition, the guidelines are listed at the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. These days, the notion that public officials are there to serve you is often a punch line for office jokes. But the records they create really are “there to help.” Op-ed column By Pamela Hasterok, Daytona Beach News-Journal
|
