Public records: Preserve our right to know

Every other week or so, I get the same request. It usually goes like this: Someone Googled his or her name, and an article on
YourObserver.com comes up first in search results showing when they bought or sold their house, who they bought it from or sold it to and for how much, along with some basic information about the home.

And then the question: Would we please remove this information? To which I reply 99% of the time: Sorry, but no.

I tell them we understand the person’s concern, but that information is public record, freely available on the websites of the clerk of the court and property appraiser, for all to see.

I then explain that, as a newspaper, we treat information online the same as if it were in print. Just like you can’t erase ink from the pages of the paper, we do not unpublish information from our website, unless it is to change an inaccuracy or update stories as they develop. In cases of corrections, notes on those web pages exist to let readers know information has been corrected and what has changed.

We do this to protect the credibility of our reporting and to ensure the records remain, as originally reported. If we removed every piece of information people didn’t like, how could our readers trust us to provide an accurate record of what we’ve reported? How could they be assured we aren’t favoring one person over another?

This is a frustrating thing for some, knowing that this information, which they view as private, is available so easily.

Although this situation is many people’s first interaction with what information is public in Florida, it is just a small piece of the public records iceberg that exists in our great state. 

What’s public

Florida has one of the broadest public records laws in the country.

In Florida, your voter registration is public record. Unless you have an exemption (such as being a victim of domestic abuse and stalking or working in a high-risk profession, such as law enforcement), your birthdate, address, phone number, email and political affiliation are available.

Other public records apply to court records and cases, certain lending documents, business registrations and licenses, building permits, police reports, nonprofit oversight and, most important, rules and records relating to governmental operations.

Each week we draw on these resources to bring you information on real estate sales, new businesses, crime reports, new construction and financials of everything from the school board to a bank’s health.

Every piece of information in these is vital to provide a strong fabric of transparency. For example, let’s say someone files to run for public office. Although the candidate must disclose basic information in that filing, through public records, you could also know what property or businesses the candidate owns, as well as who is contributing to the candidate’s campaign.

Or how about a nonprofit? Public federal tax filings allow us to see who governs the organization on its board, how much its executive makes and what portion of its revenue goes toward achieving its mission.

But public records are never more essential than dealing with our government and public institutions. The public’s right to know how organizations are being run — including when meetings are, how they are recorded and what documents are available afterward — is essential to accountability. Budgets, votes, agendas — all of these things that are seemingly dull are crucial to our democracy. They allow the public to participate by being able to understand, get engaged and oversee what’s being done.

Changing access

It is up to everyone to be vigilant to ensure these public records stay public. Today, perhaps the most common threat to public openness is how shifts in technology — intentionally or unintentionally — can make records less accessible. 

For example, a recent change in Manatee County’s online building permits system has impacted The Observer’s ability to research permits based on dollar amount. For weeks we have been unable to report information we have published for years because of a software change.

A similar situation occurred when the city of Sarasota updated its email system. With the upgrade, the city eliminated a computer terminal at City Hall where all emails to and from staff members were available. That left its online search portal, which prevents users from browsing all emails and limits searches to emails of commissioners and three staff members. Sure, all staff emails are still publicly available, but instead of searching through all communications to find things of interest, users must now submit a broad public records request or know what specific information they want. But many times people — including reporters — don’t know what they’re looking for. This change masks information that was previously readily available for anyone to come and peruse. It lessens public oversight, access and accountability.

As the town of Longboat Key works to digitize many of its records, it becomes vulnerable to these changes. We are hopeful its new system will open access rather than restrict it.

The irony is that as technology makes it easier than ever to access these records (you used to have to physically go to these offices and comb through stacks of paper files), sometimes the opposite occurs as technology changes. While we should be moving toward greater ease of availability, and in many cases we are, there are also decisions made by departments and IT people that can reduce or remove it entirely.

It’s up to all of us to make sure these changes aren’t occurring, and that we continue to insist our government works to make records more easily available.

So go ahead, search for how much your neighbor paid for her house, or what your favorite nonprofit director makes a year. Thanks to our public records law, you are entitled to that information.

Kat Hughes is executive editor of the Longboat, Sarasota, Siesta Key and East County Observers.