In the News
Inefficient system makes taxpayers pay more for less
By Andrea Neal (Indianapolis Star, October 26, 2005)
"The biggest shock in the institute's study is not that taxes are not uniform. The real shocker is how antiquated and useless Indiana's data collection system is. Counties do not adhere to required data standards … Inconsistencies abound between the state and counties; even within counties, assessors and auditors often use different data structures and data maintenance systems." -more-
Data on housing, graduates misused in final analysis
By Morton J. Marcus (Indianapolis Star, October 21, 2005)
"Your use of data in the Oct. 16 Star was contrary to good sense and the public interest. On the front page you highlight the fact that 28 of 87 townships declined in home prices. You could more appropriately have said that two-thirds of all townships in your study increased in prices. In no county did prices decline. Is it your objective to scare the public about the value of their homes? Is it to the detriment of our community that home prices did not rise as fast as in other places?"
Deal from strength on right to know
(Indianapolis Star, October 12, 2005)
"Our position: More resources and enforcement authority are needed to maintain the high performance of the access adviser. The six-year-old state Office of Public Access Counselor is setting records for work volume as awareness spreads of its availability."
Some opinions from public access counselor
(Indianapolis Star, October 11, 2005)
"The Office of the Public Access Counselor received 1,681 questions and complaints in the fiscal year ending June 30 and issued 219 formal opinions. Here is a sampling: A West Lafayette woman and former Purdue University employee asked to see the contents of her personnel file in May 2004. The university declined to turn over some of the material, including the woman's yearly employee evaluations."
State's law is ranked in top 20
(Indianapolis Star, October 11, 2005)
"Indiana's public access law is among the 20 best in the country, according to the University of Florida's Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project, which is studying access laws across the country. Director Bill Chamberlin said Indiana ranks in the top five in the ease with which citizens can obtain records. And only a handful of states have a position similar to the Office of Public Access Counselor."
Access to data needs instruction
By Morton Marcus (Times of Northwest Indiana, September 4, 2005)
"Quietly, the Daniels administration is doing something that may be a historic first: it is trying to improve the information available for administrators, legislators, analysts, scholars and ordinary citizens. It's a big task with many barriers to success. Typically, units of state and local governments don't share data with each other. They think narrowly about what they have to do today and don't consider the needs of anyone else." -more-