Voice For Liberty

Tag: Government transparency

  • Sedgwick County Commission asked to make more meeting information available

    Today citizen Susan Morse of Bentley addressed the Sedgwick County Commission, asking that additional information about commission meetings be made available on the county’s website.

    At the Wichita City Council, this information is called the “agenda report,” or the “packet,” or sometimes the “green sheets.” This is the detailed information about agenda items, such as staff analysis, maps, diagrams, contracts, proposed ordinances, and the like. The City of Wichita has been placing this information online for several years. There have been some meetings where the packet contained over 600 pages of material.

    The fact that the county doesn’t make the agenda report easily available online is an omission that the county could easily and inexpensively correct. This is especially important because sometimes big issues are announced in a small way on the agenda. Earlier this year, the county’s plan to spend millions on an industrial park, with far-reaching implications, was announced on the agenda only as “LAND PURCHASE CONTRACT — Presented by Chris Chronis, CFO.”

    Thank you to Susan Morse for taking the time to appear before the county commission, looking out for the interest of citizens.

    (I apologize for the portion of missing video.)

  • Schodorf introduced bill to reduce notice of some bond sales

    Kansas Senator Jean Schodorf, who is considering a run for the United States Congress, doesn’t have much regard for citizens’ right to know of impending sales of municipal bonds.

    A bill, Senate bill 154 from the 2007 session and introduced by Schodorf, is cast in the usual legislative language, and therefore is difficult to understand. So I will quote from the Supplemental Note for Senate Bill 154 as follows:

    “SB 154, as amended, would amend a provision of the general bond law governing the sale of municipal bonds by providing that a city would be allowed to issue up to $2.0 million in certain municipal bond sales before a published notice of sale would be required. … Under current law, a public notice of sale is required for municipal bond sales greater than $100,000.”

    The effect of this proposed legislation introduced by Schodorf would be to let more bonds be sold without publication of notice. The bill died in the Kansas House of Representatives and did not become law.

    The rationale given for allowing bonds to be sold without publication is that publication increases the cost of the bonds.

    Publication also increases the ability of citizens to know what’s going on, too. I think that’s more important.

    In the end, this legislation, if it had become law, might not have made much of a difference. The quaint practice of publishing legal notices in newspapers is likely to come to an end someday, replaced by email and websites.

    On Facebook, the City of Wichita’s Government Relations Director Dale Goter left this comment to this article:

    Bob, allow me to offer some corrections to your report. The bill, as earlier noted, was requested by the City of Wichita. As enacted, it provides for public notice. The purpose of the legislation was to LOWER special assessment costs, saving property owners money by creating a more competitve environment for certain bond issues. It was ultimately passed with overwhelming support in both houses. The final version also had the blessing of the Kansas Press Association. It is a great example of how cities work with the legislature to SAVE money for taxpayers and property owners.

  • Kansas open records examined

    Here’s another outstanding investigative report by Paul Soutar of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy. I have experienced some of the same obstacles that Soutar has encountered. Last year Wichita school district board member Lynn Rogers told me that record requests are a burden. Interim superintendent Martin Libhart’s attitude was similarly hostile towards legitimate citizen requests for records. Indications are that new board president Barb Fuller and new superintendent John Allison have a better attitude towards records requests, and I hope that time proves this to be the case.

    The spirit is willing but the law is weak

    Paul Soutar, Flint Hills Center for Public Policy

    Government transparency in Kansas is determined largely by open records and open meetings laws which state lofty goals but offer many loopholes and exemptions and few penalties for violations of the laws.

    The Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) starts off well. “It is declared to be the public policy of the state that public records shall be open for inspection by any person unless otherwise provided by this act, and this act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote such policy.”

    Similarly the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA) begins, “In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that meetings for the conduct of governmental affairs and the transaction of governmental business be open to the public.”

    The legislation that follows these broad and lofty goals, however, is full of exemptions and loopholes that circumvent the stated intent. Ignorance of the law and poor compliance by various government bodies also limit its effectiveness according to government transparency advocates.

    A 2008 Better Government Association (BGA) report ranked Kansas’ open records law 18th in the nation. A 2007 study by BGA and the National Freedom of Information Coalition gave Kansas an F and ranked the state 25th out of 50. A 2002 study by BGA and Investigative Reporters and Editors gave Kansas a D.

    Citizens who believe KORA or KOMA law has been violated can file a complaint with the local county attorney, district court or the state’s attorney general. Michael Smith, a Kansas assistant attorney general responsible for issues relating to KORA and KOMA, says complaints about KORA and KOMA compliance are handled locally out of practicality. He says with more than 4,000 government units in Kansas his office would be stretched way too thin.

    Smith stressed the importance of government transparency and awareness of the law during KORA/KOMA training held in Dodge, Olathe, Topeka and Wichita in June. A total of 332 people attended the training. According to registration data received from Smith’s office, 255 were affiliated with government, 46 were with the media and only 14 said they were unaffiliated citizens; another 17 did not list any affiliation.

    From January 2007 to June 2008 there were 62 complaints filed at the county level according to reports submitted to the state attorney general’s office. The attorney general’s office received 78 complaints during that time, including some referred from the county.

    In most cases no violation was found. Some violations were resolved by delivery of the requested material. In a few cases the offending government employee or elected official was required to attend KORA or KOMA training. None of the violations covered by documents obtained from the attorney general’s office resulted in the $500 fine that is permitted by state law.

    There are some common issues leading to problems with KORA. Chief among them is ignorance of the law.

    The law allows an agency to require a written request but not on a specific form and only as a way to ensure good communication. The requester can only be required to provide their name and a description of the information being requested and provide proof of identification. It is not permitted to ask for the person’s employer or a reason for the request. Governments can require written certification that the requester will not use names and addresses obtained to solicit sales or services but only when someone is requesting names or addresses.

    Many times government employees or elected officials are unfamiliar with the law and their first reaction is to look for reasons to deny access or information. It can be complicated because there are 48 exemptions to KORA in the statute and more than 300 elsewhere in other Kansas laws according to Smith. Most exemptions deal with personal privacy issues and release of some personal information can result in a lawsuit against the government.

    During KORA/KOMA training Smith said record custodians must be familiar with records and know which portions of a record cannot be released. “If you’re a record custodian you better know if any of those records are closed.”

    Another common complaint is excessive charges for providing information. KORA allows agencies to charge requesters only for the actual cost of making copies, including staff time to gather, redact and copy the records.

    Smith says the only place the law addresses fee disputes is with state agencies. In those cases the department of administration has final and binding say. There’s nothing like that for local government, so disputes over fees at the local level must go to the local county or district attorney.

    Taxpayer Frustrations

    Paul Driver, CEO of ATG Sports in Andover, filed an open records request with the Wichita School District seeking information regarding an April 2009 synthetic turf contract awarded to a Texas company for $371,000 more than ATG’s bid. According to Driver the district said it would cost him $800 to fulfill his request. Driver offered to bring his own copier to cut costs. “At that point, the school district said we would need to bring our own power source to make the copies.” Eventually a deal was reached for Kansas Blue Print to make the copies for $350.

    The Flint Hills Center for Public Policy requested a copy of a budget report presented to the Wichita Board of Education for their fiscal year ended June 30, 2009. Flint Hills was informed that there would be a $50 charge for 2.5 hours of staff time to make an electronic copy of the report and that the money would have to be paid before work commenced.

    Upon delivery of the check, the report was burned to a CD in less than 15 minutes. Allowing $5 for the cost of the CD the employee’s time was effectively charged at $180 per hour. When asked to explain what work was actually done to warrant the charges the employee said he would not answer without a written request for review, which Flint Hills has filed.

    Material provided to Wichita Board of Education members at their public meetings is available on the district’s web site a few days preceding the meeting and is taken down the day of the meeting. Former board president Lynn Rogers said the short availability may be because of space considerations on district Internet servers. The district web site does contain marketing newsletters from 2006.

    When asked about the incidents involving Flint Hills and ATG Sports, Wichita School Superintendent John Allison said after less than one month in the job he was unfamiliar with the specific incidents or the district’s policy and how procedure is determined. “My intent would be to meet the requirements of the open records law and do that on a timely and equitable manner for everybody that requests.”

    Kansas State Board of Education member Walt Chappell used KORA to try to extract information from the Kansas State Department of Education about claimed achievement test improvement as a justification for more taxpayer money. Chappell also asked for information to explain a large discrepancy between state and national student achievement test scores.

    Chappell made the request to Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Alexa Posny in a letter dated June 9. He asked for, “any KSDE research report or independent contractor research report provided to the KSDE which supports your claims.”

    Chappell says responses to his request from KSDE and its lawyers did not provide what he was looking for and believes their response may indicate that no such report exists. KORA does stipulate that only existing documents are covered and agencies are not required to generate reports, explain or answer questions.

    It’s also noteworthy that an elected member of the state’s school board had to resort to an open records request to get answers from KSDE, part of the education system he was elected to help oversee.

    Sedgwick County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer says government should be open and everything possible made accessible at little cost to the public. But she’s concerned that the law doesn’t apply equally to all levels of government. “I think local government elected officers and appointees are treated in a different manner from some state officials.”

    Of particular concern is recent legislation prohibiting serial meetings. A serial meeting covers “… a series of interactive communications of less than a majority of a governing body that collectively involve a majority of the body and share a common topic concerning affairs of the body and are intended to reach an agreement.” Meetings in person, over the Internet, phone or via e-mail are included.

    Welshimer said some open meetings requirements, such as a prohibition on serial meetings, have a disproportionate effect on local government and has the opposite effect of what the law was intended to do. “Tight regulations on county commissioners make it extremely difficult to carry out policy and reach decisions.” She says most of that work is done behind closed doors by county managers who work up an issue and create the agenda before giving commission members a short briefing preceding the vote.

    “We can’t talk to each other so we can’t discuss anything. So I don’t know what the reasoning is for my colleague to vote one way or another,” Welshimer said in a recent phone interview. “Sometimes that’s a totally new subject and we haven’t been able to talk to each other to see what each other knows about it.”

    When asked about opportunities to ask questions in open meetings Welshimer said commissioners, like most elected officials, are reluctant to appear uninformed in public.

    State legislators can order research from the Legislative Research Department. That research is not open to the public unless released by the legislator.

    Welshimer, a former state representative, wants to know why state legislators aren’t held to the same standards as local elected officials. “The legislature has serial meetings constantly. They go along and count votes.” She says this allows legislators to research a topic, write a proposal, gather sufficient support for passage and spring it on the legislature. She says city and county managers have similar opportunities. “Every group in town can talk with the county or city manager about some item and then the manager can spring it on the commission. So where in this process do we have openness?”

    Welshimer says anything the legislature does should apply to them and believes the state’s open meeting law should be rewritten.

  • Sedgwick County checkbook now open

    Those interested in the finances and spending of Sedgwick County now have more information available.

    The county checkbook website is at Sedgwick County checkbook. I’ve looked at it, and like a lot of these things, it takes a little practice and experimentation to find what you want.

    This marks a big step forward in Sedgwick County government transparency. Chris Chronis, Chief Financial Officer for the county, is to be commended.

    Other things the county does well is promptly posting the video and review of commission meetings. It’s 3:45 pm now, and already these items for this morning’s commission meeting are available. The minutes of the commission meetings, which are a verbatim transcript of the proceedings, take longer to prepare. As of now, the latest meeting for which minutes are available is the June 3, 2009 meeting.

    The next step the county could easily take is to post the “agenda packet” or “green sheets” for commission meetings. This is the detailed information about the items to be considered at the meeting. This packet can be hundreds of pages long. The City of Wichita does a good job — maybe too good– in this regard, as this week’s packet was 652 pages.

    For now, the county commission agenda packets are available only in printed form, which means a trip to the courthouse or a delay for mailing.

    Reporting in the Wichita Eagle is at You can view Sedgwick County’s checkbook online.

  • Kansas alternative media shut out of legislative access

    Earlier this year, during the Kansas legislative session, I became interested in receiving press credentials from the Kansas Legislature. This, I thought, would make covering news made in the statehouse easier.

    The issuance of legislative press credentials is handled, in alternating years, by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House. This year is the Senate President’s year. So in March I stopped by the office of the President of the Senate, and upon making my inquiry I was told by a staff member that my request would not be considered. The reason for that, I was told, is that my publication isn’t printed on paper.

    Not satisfied with that, I made inquiry to Michael White, who is chief of staff for Senate President Stephen Morris.

    In a recent telephone conversation with White, I was told that I’m not the only person who has inquired about press credentials. As a result, White hopes to develop a policy for the issuance of press credentials by this fall.

    White said that for now, the primary reason for not allowing bloggers like me press credentials is lack of space on the Senate floor.

    Mentioning my blog and the Kansas Jackass (a widely read “progressive” blog) specifically, he also said that the floor of the Senate has never been opened to, in his words, “partisan media.”

    He also wondered what the impetus is for wanting floor access. Gallery access is available to bloggers and alternative media, just as it is to the public.

    In an email I had sent to White (see below) I had wondered how a distinction could be made between Hawver’s Capitol Report (which has press credentials) and Kansas Liberty, which was turned down it its request for credentials. White said that partisanship is the key distinction. An additional factor is the ability of readers to post comments to articles on Kansas Liberty. Commenting is a consideration for blogs, too, according to White.

    As a result, the Senate President’s Office is “not inclined” to issue credentials at this time.

    We need to ask this question: Are the issues raised by White valid and legitimate concerns?

    Is there a lack of space on the senate floor? Speaking with one Kansas statehouse reporter and several senators, I learned that sometimes the chairs in the press area on the Senate floor are full. But mostly, they’re not.

    The issue of partisanship is a non-issue, too. When White said the Senate floor has not been open to partisan media, I should have asked if he meant overtly partisan media, as many in Kansas feel — correctly or not — that some newspapers in Kansas display a distinct bias towards one end of the political spectrum.

    Whether or not you agree with that, here’s this fact: opinion writers in traditional media have been granted credentials. I spoke with Phillip Brownlee, opinion editor for the Wichita Eagle. He doesn’t currently hold a press credential at the statehouse, but editorialists at the Eagle have in the past. Being editorial writers, they, of course, express opinions.

    Another thing that doesn’t make sense is the ability to post comments to stories or blog posts as a distinguishing factor. Most major newspapers in Kansas allow reader comments to stories and opinion pieces. Some have blogs whose major reason for existence is to gather reader opinion.

    As for why I want press credentials: Several legislators told me that being on the floor of the Senate and House would be a big advantage in news reporting. It’s a factor that would let alternative media better serve their readers.

    There is one important issue that White didn’t mention, but Tim Carpenter of the Topeka Capital-Journal did. That is, some advocacy groups that lobby the legislature also do news reporting and have blogs. If the floor of the House and Senate were open to them, they could lobby legislators right on the floor as votes are taken. This isn’t possible now, as lobbyists are prohibited from being on the floor of either chamber.

    I believe that if we think about it, we could overcome this problem.

    As shown in reporting by Paul Soutar and an editorial by Dave Trabert, both of the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy, Kansas lags badly in government openness and transparency. A notable exception Kansans can be proud of is KanView.

    While the denial of press credentials by the office of the Senate President is not an open records issue, it is another way in which our state government makes it clear that citizen input and scrutiny is not welcome.

    —

    Here’s the email I sent to White, making the case for press credentials for alternative media:

    As traditional media face declining resources and readership, alternative media are stepping in to help provide news and information to Kansans. Blogs like mine (Voice For Liberty in Wichita) and others such as The Kansas Jackass, Kansas Supreme Court Blog, Kansas Progress, and Kansas Meadowlark may have tens of thousands of readers each month.

    Then, there are the new online sites that aren’t blogs, but provide valuable news services that are changing journalism in Kansas. Kansas Liberty is the most prominent example. Now, the Flint Hills Center for Public Policy in Wichita has hired an investigative journalist.

    Alternative media in Kansas is growing. We need the type of access that is granted to traditional media.

    In a previous email to me, you expressed this concern: “What would stop anyone from starting a blog site to get access to Senate floor?”

    The answer is that it’s a lot of work to have a blog or news site. The sites listed above, plus maybe a handful of others, represent all the serious political bloggers in Kansas, meaning those who post on a regular basis. Some of these are operated by people who have full-time jobs and can’t spend a lot of time at the statehouse.

    But the real consideration is this: Isn’t more news and information a good thing? I think it would be great if there was such interest in Kansas government that the press area was full of reporters, instead of being mostly empty, as I am told.

    There’s also a consideration of equity. It is difficult for me to distinguish between KansasLiberty.com (whose request for press credentials was turned down) and Hawver’s Capitol Report. Both are publications that are available online only. Both have subscribers who pay substantial fees, $100 annually for KansasLiberty.com; $200 annually for Hawver’s. Why is it that one has press credentials and the other doesn’t?

    It’s time to give Kansas alternative media the access and privileges they’ve earned.

  • It’s time to audit the Federal Reserve Bank

    I received a press release from the Libertarian Party of Kansas announcing their support for legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Ron Paul that would “audit the centralized/privatized banks that make up the Federal Reserve System.”

    “The secretive FR [Federal Reserve] is a monetary oligarchy and an unelected monopoly that has control of credit, interest, volume and value of our currency. Until the people regain control of their money, bankers and not the government, will control the situation and our property,” says Al Terwelp, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Kansas. “We must have the ability to search for the truth in FR practices and once it is found only then can we exercise justice for all. Without openness, our Republic’s existence is in jeopardy, for every dollar, every citizen, every issue of monetary, social and foreign policy is connected to the hegemony that is the Federal Reserve.”

    Personally, I find that most people have no idea of what the Federal Reserve does, or that it creates money out of thin air. It doesn’t even have to print it, as all it has to do is make some computerized ledger entries, and there’s new some money.

    Rep. Paul’s bill that would requre the audit of the Fed, HR 1207, has 237 co-sponsors in the House, including Kansas’ Tiahrt, Moran, and Jenkins. Rep. Dennis Moore of Johnson County is not a sponsor.

    Rep. Paul has a resource page with much information about the legislation and the need for it at Audit the Federal Reserve: HR 1207 and S 604.

  • Sedgwick County transparency effort delayed

    This week Sedgwick County was scheduled to debut its financial transparency website. Based on the preview I briefly saw, this system will allow citizens to explore county revenue and spending in detail.

    Evidently, the system presents too much detail. The rollout was delayed due to an issue brought up by the Sheriff, having to do with names of undercover officers being exposed.

    That’s a legitimate concern. Records that would disclose the identity of an “undercover agent” is one of the exceptions identified in the Kansas Open Records Act.

  • Wichita school informational forums could help increase understanding

    At Monday’s meeting of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, board president Lynn Rogers said he wants to have a discussion about ending balances, in particular unencumbered funds. He said there is misunderstanding in the community, during the bond issue campaign last year, and now with a state school board member. He added that he wants to communicate the meaning of this to the public.

    Rogers didn’t mention the state school board member by name, but I think I can guess who he’s referring to. You can view the member’s less-than-cordial treatment at a recent Wichita school board meeting in this YouTube video.

    There’s a problem at the Wichita school board meetings, as there also is at meetings of many other government bodies. Citizens — even a Kansas State School Board Member — have to speak first, and briefly at that. Then the board members, superintendent, and staff get to speak without fear that the citizen will be able to ask questions, rebut arguments, or just call plain old nonsense for what it is.

    A group in Wichita is considering a public forum to discuss this issue. Hopefully this event will take place, and representatives from the school district will participate.

    The alternative is more meetings where one side only is in control of the agenda, the message, and the flow of information.

  • GovTrack.us helps citizens watch Congress

    The website GovTrack.us is a great resource for citizens who are interested in the United States Congress. With the rapid expansion of government in the recent past, this is something we should all be concerned with.

    By using GovTrack.us, you can search for bills by their bill number, words in the bill, the bill sponsors, and other ways. Once you’ve found the bill, you can read its text and see its status as it works its way through Congress. What’s really useful is to add a tracker to the bill, so that you can be notified — either on the site itself or through email or RSS feed — when there’s new information about the bill.

    If you’re interested in information about particular members of Congress, you can find them by name, zip code, or by clicking on a map. Once found, GovTrack.us reports some useful information.

    One thing reported is the member’s position across the political spectrum. This is done through a statistical analysis of cosponsorship of bills. Kansas Sen. Brownback is identified through this analysis as a “far-right Republican,” while Sen. Roberts is a “rank-and-file Republican.”

    This analysis also reports that Roberts is “somewhere between a leader and a follower,” according to sponsorship of bills. Brownback is rated the same.

    The page for each member also reports approval ratings from SurveyUSA and an analysis of missed votes. It also holds a link to the page at the Center for Responsive Politics, which lets you see information about campaign contributions. Information about committee membership and bill sponsorship and cosponsorship round out this page.

    You can also add a member to your tracking page, so you can receive email updates when new information becomes available.

    This website is a useful resource for citizens to keep with with Congress.