The CCSD has published the agenda for the upcoming meeting. The agenda is also available in the library of AboutCambria.com – in the CCSD category. To view the CCSD documents in the library, just select CCSD from the drop down menu just under the page title and click “Go”. Other items that will added to the library include minutes (as they become available) and the other numerous documents, EIRs, studies, and more. Most of the items here are subject to the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and/or CPRA (California Public Records Act), but not all of them can be found on the CCSD website right now.
Tammy Rudock has said that the district’s website is being reworked and improved. Perhaps when the new site goes up, more public documents will be accessible. At the last Brown Bag Lunch with Tammy, I asked her about whether the “new” site will include access to the public documents, both current and historic. She indicated current and future documents (agendas, reports, minutes and such) would be available on the new site, but thought it would be unlikely that other archives would become available online, due to the time it would take to scan, catalog and upload the older documents.
I believe that openness and transparency are essential attributes if a public agency wants to build trust, especially in the current political climate. The more access to public records, the better informed people can become about how our community got to where it is. By making it easier for people to find and read the agendas, reports and minutes, the district could reduce the time spent explaining the history and how we got where we are. In this spirit, I asked Tammy if it would be possible to set up a process whereby I could “check out”archived documents, scan them, then return them to the district, along with copies of the electronic documents for CCSD use. I think the offer would address two issues getting in the way of public access: the realistic priorities and constraints on staff time and the prohibitive cost of obtaining documents (at 20 cents per page, the Water Master Plan alone would cost close to $125). Of course, my motive in volunteering to scan thousands of pages of CCSD records was only mostly altruistic. I am also motivated by my desire to read the “primary documents” history of my community’s struggles with water issues and desalination. I want to better understand how we got here, without the tint of political agenda or personal interpretation that has accompanied most town histories I have heard. As a child, I somehow came to the conclusion that democracy works best when people are well-informed on the issues and public officials are best when they act in the best interests of the community. And that belief about government and democracy has stuck, even as it was modified by the understanding that in the real world it doesn’t always work like it does in theory. (Two other considerations came to mind as I offered to scan the records: 1.) To cover the expense involved, at 20 cents per page,I’d have to work more, which would mean I wouldn’t have time to scan OR read the records. and 2) Once I scan the records, the paper versions wouldn’t see much action…a waste of trees and the energy to make and recycle the paper, not to mention the environmental and actual cost of ink.)
The fundamental precept of the CPRA is that governmental records shall be disclosed to the public, upon request, unless there is a specific reason not to do so. Cases interpreting the CPRA have emphasized that its primary purpose is to give the public an opportunity to monitor the functioning of their government. The greater and more unfettered the public official’s power, the greater the public’s interest in monitoring the governmental action. But public records requests can begin to take a lot of staff time, especially since a public agency is supposed to not only provide the documents and information requested, but are also “generally required to assist members of the public in making focused and effective requests for identifiable records.” The summary of the CPRA (2004) goes on to state, “One legislatively-approved method of providing assistance is to make available an index of the agency’s records.” (Government code section 6253.1 (d) (3))
Tammy told me she’s need to think about whether or not this arrangement would be workable. I submit that an “index of the agency’s records” would be a natural by-product of building an electronic archive of CCSD records, and as described in the summary of the CPRA, an index could save staff time currently spent procuring and copying records for public records requests. This benefit could outweigh concerns the CCSD may have and the CPRA clearly states “…a local agency may adopt requirements for itself that allows for faster, more efficient, or greater access to records than prescribed by the minimum standards set forth in this chapter.” (Gov’t Code 6253 (e) )
All lawspeak and code aside, it is in the community’s interest (the interest with greater weight) to have better access to CCSD records, current and historic. I intend to follow up on this request, since our busy general manager probably has an extensive to-do list and a written request seems entirely appropriate, if not required. What are your thoughts?
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Last 5 posts by Amanda Rice
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