Public record law makes it your business - Elizabethtown Bladen Journal

Have you ever attended a town, city or county council meeting? A public school board meeting?

Chances are you have or will at some point, most likely because you read that public body’s meeting notice and an item or two on the agenda piqued your interest or raised a concern.

While you were in attendance, perhaps you noticed that the public body’s elected representatives already had or were handed various sheets or packets of information they would refer to as the various agenda items came up for discussion or vote.

Chances are you could only listen to the discussion and did not have the benefit of having the same packet or sheet of information in front of you. It’s a bit like being in church and only the choir having the song sheet or hymnal, isn’t it?

But hey, that’s just how these things work, right?

Wrong.

That might well be how many meetings operate, but that doesn’t mean they are operating correctly. You are entitled to have in hand the same information those elected officials have before them. You should ask for a copy, but don’t be surprised if you wind up having to wait, especially if the sheets and packets of information before them is in an electronic format. Sure, that saves paper, but it also keeps public information out of the public’s view. Temporarily, at any rate.

While it’s possible a clerk or even one of the elected officials could transmit a copy of the electronic document to your smartphone or other device, you might have to make a return trip the next day to get a paper copy of what you requested. Nonetheless, it should be made available within a reasonable timeframe.

Who says? The North Carolina Public Record Law in Section § 132-6, which states that a custodian of public records shall make them available “at reasonable times and under reasonable supervision by any person, and shall, as promptly as possible, furnish copies thereof upon payment of any fees as may be prescribed by law.”

According to the law, (a) “public record” or “public records” shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts, or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions. Agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions shall mean and include every public office, public officer or official (State or local, elected or appointed), institution, board, commission, bureau, council, department, authority or other unit of government of the State or of any county, unit, special district or other political subdivision of government.

And (b) The public records and public information compiled by the agencies of North Carolina government or its subdivisions are the property of the people. Therefore, it is the policy of this State that the people may obtain copies of their public records and public information free or at minimal cost unless otherwise specifically provided by law. As used herein, “minimal cost” shall mean the actual cost of reproducing the public record or public information.

In short, ask and ye shall — ye better — receive. And if you don’t, please let us know, let other readers know. Let the sun shine brightly on the public’s business, your business.

source: https://www.bladenjournal.com/opinion/42422/public-record-law-makes-it-your-business

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