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Some southern Maine town, school policies violate state's right-to-know law
01.03.2012
Published by The Forecaster
The public's right to know is described in Maine by the Freedom of Acccess Act, which clearly outlines the rules and obligations for operating an open, transparent government.
For example, a citizen who requests a document from a public agency may not be charged more than $10 per hour for time spent fulfilling that request. And that fee can only be charged after the first hour.
In spite of this, the Scarborough School Board has a policy allowing officials to charge up to $30 per hour. Late last year, the board was prepared to increase the fee to $50 per hour, but tabled the proposal after questions were raised by a reporter from The Forecaster.
The incident prompted an investigation into public right-to-know policies in cities and towns throughout greater Portland. That investigation revealed that Scarborough isn't the only municipality or school district to run afoul of the FOAA.
While many area government officials understand their FOAA rights and responsibilities, some may not uphold their obligation to residents to provide open access to government.
Read the complete article here.