It’s happening more and more frequently, in large and small jurisdictions across North Carolina. It may come by email, personal delivery, or even in a good old -fashioned letter, signed, sealed and delivered by snail mail. It’s the massive public records request. You know the ones: “copies of all emails send to or received by the manager and each member of the board on XYZ issue,” or “every email that mentions the name Jane M.

It’s happening more and more frequently, in large and small jurisdictions across North Carolina. It may come by email, personal delivery, or even in a good old -fashioned letter, signed, sealed and delivered by snail mail. It’s the massive public records request. You know the ones: “copies of all emails send to or received by the manager and each member of the board on XYZ issue,” or “every email that mentions the name Jane M.

Looking to drum up new business, Tony Gazzo makes a public records request to the Rockyham County property tax office for a report listing t

Looking to drum up new business, Tony Gazzo makes a public records request to the Rockyham County property tax office for a report listing t

It’s budget time for local governments, and the fun should not be reserved just for finance and budget staffers.  Tax officials need to play an important role in the process, too.

It’s budget time for local governments, and the fun should not be reserved just for finance and budget staffers.  Tax officials need to play an important role in the process, too.

The town’s governing board wants to be more transparent. They direct the clerk to post all agendas, attachments, minutes, and budgets on the town’s website.  The IT director, who manages the website, suggests that these documents should be converted to PDF format, and password-protected in order to prevent members of the public from modifying them.  After several weeks of posting this information, a citizen requests a copy of a power point presentation that was shown at a recent meeting. The request is for an electronic copy of the presentation “in native format”.

The town’s governing board wants to be more transparent. They direct the clerk to post all agendas, attachments, minutes, and budgets on the town’s website.  The IT director, who manages the website, suggests that these documents should be converted to PDF format, and password-protected in order to prevent members of the public from modifying them.  After several weeks of posting this information, a citizen requests a copy of a power point presentation that was shown at a recent meeting. The request is for an electronic copy of the presentation “in native format”.

Blight City is looking to revitalize a portion of its downtown. Over the past ten years the area has fallen into disarray and contains many abandoned, dilapidated buildings. Working with a couple of local developers, the city has developed plans to purchase and demolish one of the buildings and construct a large parking garage in its place. The city also plans to improve several of the existing roads leading into downtown and to pave a few additional side streets.

Blight City is looking to revitalize a portion of its downtown. Over the past ten years the area has fallen into disarray and contains many abandoned, dilapidated buildings. Working with a couple of local developers, the city has developed plans to purchase and demolish one of the buildings and construct a large parking garage in its place. The city also plans to improve several of the existing roads leading into downtown and to pave a few additional side streets.