Conn. housing authority appeals decision on release of job candidate info

The Ridgefield Housing Authority in Connecticut is appealing the Freedom of Information Commission's ruling that it must release job candidate records, The Ridgefield Press reported. The Commission said the Housing Authority didn't justify that the release of resumes from those who interviewed for the executive director position in 2007 who invade personal privacy.

Ridgefield’s Housing Authority is appealing a Freedom of Information Commission decision ordering it to release the résumés of people it interviewed for a job in 2005.

“They all have personal information in them and we don’t feel that’s something that should be given to the public,” said Housing Authority Chairman Phil Bergquist.

The legal battle pitting open government statutes against privacy rights appears to have roots in a dispute between a resident of the Housing Authority’s apartments and the staff managing the apartment complex.

More here.

Iowa bill to rewrite Sunshine Law debated

Iowa's ombudsman said the changes made to a state bill concerning open meetings and open records move the state backward rather than forward in its level of transparency, The Des Moines Register reported. Among the controversies are amendments that would make job applications at all government agencies and all "draft" materials exemption from public records laws.

Greater secrecy in government records would result from some of the changes lawmakers have made to a bill dealing with open meetings and open records, according to the state ombudsman.

"Some of the amendments adopted last week pose a retreat from the amount of transparency and openness that currently exists in Iowa. It is just bad public policy," Ombudsman Bill Angrick wrote in a letter to key lawmakers.

If the bill is adopted, many hiring decisions would be more secret, critical information used in forming public policy would be shielded from public light, and there could be problems with the fees an agency charges for reviewing records before their release, Angrick said.

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Kudos to the Memphis Schools Chancellor

Not everyday do I dole out praise -- but this is well earned!

Chancellor Walter Evans this morning ruled that records of all applicants for the recent vacancy for superintendent of the Memphis City Schools are public records and should be provided to The Commercial Appeal.

The chancellor’s ruling came after the newspaper filed suit against the school board which provided access only to records of the five semifinalists selected by Ray and Associates, the Iowa-based company hired by the board to conduct the search.

Evans said Ray and Associates was performing a governmental function as an agent for the Memphis City Schools in receiving “all applications” for superintendent and that all applications and correspondence must be made available for public inspection.

More here.