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________________________________________________________________
The Nation (Nairobi) 1/9/00
Blaze destroys railway records

by Murad Rayani
<SNIP>
Nairobi - Vital documents belonging to the troubled Kenya Railways=20
Corporation were destroyed in a blaze at its Nairobi headquarters yesterday.=
=20
The fire was brought under control within 15 minutes but not before importan=
t=20
finance records had been lost as furniture and filing cabinets were=20
extensively damaged.=20
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
The fire began in the revenue collection offices on the third floor of the K=
R=20
building, on Haile Selassie Avenue, police said. The building houses the=20
corporation=92s entire country records. The Commandant of Kenya Railways=20
Police, a Mr. Onono, said it was believed the fire, which broke out at about=
=20
8.15am in the securely locked offices, was caused by an electrical fault.=20
KR management moved fast to assure the public that the information contained=
=20
in the destroyed documents was still available in the parastatal=92s compute=
r=20
system.=20
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
This is not the first time fire has devastated documents of a corporation on=
=20
the threshold of changing ownership. A couple of years ago, a mysterious fir=
e=20
damaged vital data at the Kenya National Assurance Company before the=20
corporation folded. At the time, KNAC was reportedly submerged in corruption=
=20
and mismanagement.=20
<SNIP>

________________________________________________________________
Bergen Record 1/10/00
Heights climbs back after fire

by Richard Cowen
<SNIP>
HASBROUCK HEIGHTS=97Page by page, file by file, and milk crate by milk crate=
,=20
municipal employees are slowly putting the town back together following the=20
disastrous fire that destroyed Borough Hall on Dec. 10.=20
The smell of charred rubble still clings to the stacks of documents that=20
arrive each day at the =93new=94 Borough Hall set up in the old First Union=20=
bank=20
office at 218-222 Boulevard. Most of these documents have been damaged by=20
water and are headed for the basement, where workers separate them and lay=20
them on the floor to dry.=20
=93They=92re smoky, smelly, and dirty, but it appears that everything that w=
e=20
need has been saved,=94 said Conchita Parker, the borough tax collector. =93=
All=20
in all, we=92ve been very lucky.=94=20
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
The new site may be temporary, but only time will tell whether the smoky odo=
r=20
that hangs on documents will be a permanent reminder of the back-to-back=20
disasters in December.=20
Tragedy first struck the borough around 5 p.m. on Dec. 9, when a twin-engine=
=20
plane bound for Teterboro Airport crashed into a back yard off Central=20
Avenue, killing the pilot and three passengers. No one on the ground died,=20
but Hasbrouck Heights spent the next 24 hours putting out the fire and=20
working with the Federal Aviation Administration to clear the wreckage.=20
The next night, the Hasbrouck Heights Council met at Borough Hall to discuss=
=20
the crash. Hours after the meeting ended, a fire began in the council=20
chambers and quickly spread to the attic. Fanned by 20-mph winds and fueled=20
by thousands of dusty documents stored in the attic, the fire destroyed the=20
building and routed the Fire and Police departments from the first floor.=20
The fire destroyed the building. As soon as the smoke cleared, Hasbrouck=20
Heights officials had to find some way to keep the government running=97even=
 if=20
there was no place to go=97and make room for even more paperwork.=20
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
In the days immediately after the fire, Kronyak said his most pressing=20
concern was keeping the books balanced=97even if he didn=92t know exactly wh=
ether=20
any of the books had survived the fire. =93Our most pressing concern was to=20
keep paying our bills and keep making payroll,=94 Kronyak said.=20
A month later, workers are still sifting through the rubble, and it remains=20
uncertain whether Borough Hall will be razed. So far, the borough=92s insura=
nce=20
company has not completed its damage estimate, which is expected to include=20
several million dollars in damage to the building structure, furnishings, an=
d=20
equipment.=20
In the meantime, Kronyak estimates, the borough has spent $75,000 to $85,000=
=20
having water-damaged records freeze-dried, with $30,000 to $40,000 more spen=
t=20
on overtime. The council authorized an emergency appropriation of $278,603 t=
o=20
cover costs.=20
The fiscal ledgers did suffer some water damage but were not destroyed. And=20
Kronyak said the borough=92s computer consultant spent days retrieving recor=
ds=20
from the hard drives.=20
Tax records are in order, as well, and the next quarterly payment is due Feb=
.=20
1. But because parking is scarce downtown, borough officials request that=20
residents mail their payments to Borough Hall.=20
Some items, though, are gone forever. Recreation Director Andy Feintuch said=
=20
the scrapbooks that he had been keeping since 1972 on borough youth programs=
=20
were destroyed in the fire.
 <SNIP>
<SNIP>
The borough passed another milestone on its road to recovery last week. On=20
Wednesday, Judge Harry H. Chandless Jr. convened the first Municipal Court=20
session since Borough Hall burned down.=20
The courtroom was in the basement of the Masonic lodge at Boulevard and=20
Division Street. The judge=92s bench was a folding chair and card table. Beh=
ind=20
him the court dockets lay on a pool table covered by a tarpaulin=97a far cry=
=20
from the stately mahogany-paneled courtroom that went up in flames with the=20
rest of Borough Hall.=20
Chandless kept his sense of humor as he grabbed a summons from the pile and=20
held it aloft. The summons was grayed by soot, and water had warped the=20
paper.=20
=93The municipal building burned to the ground, but God saved all these=20
summonses,=94 Chandless joked. =93Plus, the only other room that didn=92t bu=
rn down=20
was the tax collector=92s office.=94=20
<SNIP>

________________________________________________________________
Morning Call (Pa) 1/10/00
Judges in Bucks contemplate need for more space

by Diane Marczely Gimpel
<SNIP>
Concerned about running out of room in the Bucks County Courthouse, Presiden=
t=20
Judge R. Barry McAndrews has formed a committee of judges to study how space=
=20
is used in the Doylestown building.=20
=91=92We=92ve got a space problem,=92=92 McAndrews said. =91=92This building=
 is shared by=20
the courts and the [county] administration, and we have no room to expand.=
=92=92=20
As it is, McAndrews said, 11 judges have to make do with nine courtrooms, tw=
o=20
of which don=92t have room for juries. Those two courtrooms are across from=20=
the=20
main courthouse in the family court building.=20
>SNIP>
<SNIP>
But McAndrews wants some long-term answers. His committee, which consists of=
=20
Judges Michael Kane, David Heckler and John Rufe, is charged with assessing=20
what the courts will need in 25 years.=20
=91=92In the courthouse in 2025, you are not going to have a prothonotary, a=
=20
register of wills=97that=92s all going to be electronic,=92=92 McAndrews sai=
d. =91=92We=20
have to anticipate that.=92=92=20
The prothonotary is the steward of civil court records. The register of will=
s=20
not only does what the title suggests=97register the wills of the deceased=
=97but=20
also processes documents for orphan=92s court, which handles adoptions. Most=
 of=20
the documents are paper.=20
If paper documents no longer were used and court matters were handled by=20
computer only, those offices and other court-related ones, such as the clerk=
=20
of courts, wouldn=92t need as much space as they do now, McAndrews said.=20
=91=92I anticipate those functions would not be necessary in the courthouse,=
=92=92=20
McAndrews said. =91=92They could be off-site.=92=92=20
While the judges begin their study, the county is about to finish its own=20
study on how all the buildings it controls are used. As part of the study, a=
n=20
architectural firm interviewed officials from every county agency, including=
=20
the courts, and asked them to project space needs through 2015.=20
<SNIP>

________________________________________________________________
The Glenwood Post (Co) 1/07/00
Larimer County puts records online raising privacy concerns

Associated Press
<SNIP>
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- Larimer County is putting property records,=20
property taxes and recorded documents on the Internet despite privacy=20
concerns from some residents.=20
The online system, called the Virtual Courthouse, will replace the current=20
public dial-up system, which will be discontinued after Jan. 31, the county=20
announced Wednesday.=20
Residents will be able to use names to access nearly two million documents i=
n=20
more than 400 categories ranging from marriage licenses and wills to court=20
orders and bankruptcy information.=20
In addition, information about 116,000 residential, commercial and=20
mobile-home properties in the county will be available on the Web, as well a=
s=20
property-tax information dating to 1996.=20
=93I think it=92s a bad thing,=94 said Olivia Peterson. =93I think it will a=
llow=20
people to get our phone numbers and then call us on advertising.=94=20
Personal information such as telephone numbers and Social Security numbers=20
will not be available online, county officials said.=20
=93There=92s always been a concern about doing this, but it is public inform=
ation=20
that=92s already available,=94 said Barb Balzano, a county records superviso=
r.=20
Other counties in the state already have their records available online.=20
Larimer County officials said other information and services could be=20
available online in the future. Among the items being considered are buildin=
g=20
permits, inspections, maps, campground reservations, dog licenses and voter=20
registration.=20
<SNIP>

_______________________________________________________________
Wichita Eagle (Kansas) 1/08/00
Graves, Stovall change public records proposal

by Sarah Kessinger
Harris News Service
<SNIP>
TOPEKA=97Gov. Bill Graves and Attorney General Carla Stovall won=92t seek to=
=20
create an independent board to settle disputes over whether documents and=20
meetings are open to the public, but they will try toughen the state=92s=20
sunshine laws.=20
Stovall said Friday the two will ask legislators to create fines for=20
officials who violate the Kansas Open Records Act, which guarantees Kansans=
=92=20
right to see government records.=20
They also want the attorney general=92s office to have the force of law when=
=20
issuing opinions on public records and public meetings.=20
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
Stovall and Graves originally had talked of creating a public access board t=
o=20
settle disputes over public records and meetings.=20
But support for that idea was limited Friday amid complaints it would create=
=20
more bureaucracy and worries that it would be too costly for this year=92s=20
tight state budget.=20
Graves and Stovall=92s first proposal followed a series of stories in Novemb=
er=20
in Kansas newspapers on the problems citizens have faced obtaining governmen=
t=20
records that the law says are open to anyone.=20
Reporters requested public records in all 105 counties. All but 34 requests=20
were granted, but more than half the offices pressed their visitors for more=
=20
personal information than the law requires them to disclose. City and county=
=20
clerk=92s offices generally complied with the law and provided records upon=20
request. But some school districts failed to turn over public documents, and=
=20
a third of county sheriff=92s departments refused to do so, in violation of=20=
the=20
law.=20
<SNIP>=20
<SNIP>
The attorney general=92s office cannot now issue opinions that require publi=
c=20
officials to make a document public. Citizens who are denied a document that=
=20
they believe is public must take the public agency to court to have the law=20
enforced.=20
David Furnas, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, agreed tha=
t=20
open records laws need teeth and that levying fines could help.=20
All surrounding states have fines in their records laws. Some also allow for=
=20
removal from office or jail time for violators. In Kansas, a judge is limite=
d=20
to awarding attorney fees for willful violations of the law.=20
But local government officials were lukewarm to changing the law.=20
Don Moler, executive director of the League of Kansas Municipalities, said h=
e=20
opposed the plan, adding that his organization works to educate local=20
officials on the law.=20
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
Democratic leaders also have crafted a proposal. House and Senate minority=20
leaders want to create a freedom of information officer in the secretary of=20
state=92s office to mediate disputes over public records and educate local=20
officials. They say the new position wouldn=92t cost more, because it would=20
come out of existing staff and budget.=20
<SNIP>

________________________________________________________________
Deseret News 1/10/00
Are police charging too much for copies

by Joel Campbell
<SNIP>
Are members of the public being overcharged by Wasatch Front police agencies=
=20
anytime they ask for a copy of an accident or police report?
A survey of what it costs to obtain police reports shows most agencies charg=
e=20
$5 per report. Ogden police charge $10. Some government watchdogs question=20
why getting a plain paper copy of a report costs so much. Take, for example,=
=20
a four-page report. At some non-police agencies it may only cost 40 cents to=
=20
get a four-page copy rather than $5 at most police departments.
The watchdogs cite Utah=92s Government Records Access and Management Act, wh=
ich=20
says that a =93governmental entity may charge reasonable fees to cover=20
governmental entity=92s actual cost of duplicating the record.=94
Just what =93actual costs=94 and =93reasonable fees=94 are has wide interpre=
tation=20
across the state. For example, the Utah Legislature charges 10 cents a page=20
for paper copies. The Salt Lake City Recorder=92s office doesn=92t charge to=
 copy=20
a few pages of a public record and Utah=92s courts charge 25 cents a page. T=
he=20
Salt Lake County Sheriff=92s Office said its fee is based on an average of 5=
0=20
cents per page to provide copies, while other areas in county government=20
charge 10 cents for copies. The law allows people to view a record without=20
paying a fee.
=93The purpose of the Government Records Access and Management Act was to=20
provide consistent access to records throughout the state at a reasonable=20
cost. People are paying for records with their tax dollars to begin with. It=
=20
is hard to understand why a copy of a page or two report should cost $5 or=20
$10 when it costs 10 or 20 cents (a page) in a copy shop,=94 said Betsy Wolf=
,=20
who was active in the process that created GRAMA and now is an advocate with=
=20
the Salt Lake Community Action Program.
Jeff Hunt, the local attorney involved with government access law, is=20
concerned that police agencies may have created profit centers from the=20
public police reports =97 something the records law doesn=92t allow. Police=20
departments say that insurance companies are big customers of accident=20
reports and should help pay for the costs of providing records.
=93The concern is when government turns access to public records into a prof=
it=20
center. The intent of GRAMA was to provide low-cost reasonable access to=20
public records so people could find out the workings of government,=94 he sa=
id.
He also is concerned that police agencies may be attempting to cover other=20
administrative and equipment costs through the records fees. For example,=20
governments may not charge to review a record to determine whether it is a=20
subject of disclosure, according to Hunt.
However, an Ogden City Council representative said it is appropriate to=20
include some administrative costs in copying fees.
Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner said that providing copies of accident report=
s=20
is an =93extra=94 duty beyond the scope of what should be expected as a publ=
ic=20
service from his department. About 90 percent of reports requested go to=20
national insurance companies, which do not contribute to local taxes. He sai=
d=20
the City Council lowered the fee from $25 to $10 after the state=92s records=
=20
law was revised and felt the charge was fair because of the large number of=20
requests from insurance firms.
Salt Lake County Sheriff=92s Office Sgt. Larry Maxwell also believes fees ca=
n=20
be levied to cover the cost of equipment. Maxwell said his department=20
recommended the fee, which was approved by the County Commission, after=20
surveying area police agencies. The sheriff=92s office charges $5 for up to=20=
10=20
pages of copies and then charges 50 cents a copy for additional pages.=20
Maxwell says he believes the fee is justified because the county has=20
purchased a sophisticated optical imaging system. The system makes reports=20
available for a longer period of time and more quickly than the traditional=20
paper filing system.
Maxwell says its unfair to compare these sheriff=92s operations with other=20
county departments and balks at the suggestion his department is profiting=20
from the charges.
<SNIP>






PETER A. KURILECZ CRM, CA
PAKURILECZ@AOL.COM

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