Paper’s test gets strong reaction – Bow says it complies with Right to Know Law

Bow Editor — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:21:00 GMT

After results of an investigation into Bow’s compliance with the New Hampshire Right to Know Law were published, some information has come to light that shows Bow to be more in line with the law than was reported.

In the first part of a series conducted by The Bow Times, printed on Thursday, Sept. 13, Bow was counted in the towns not complying with the law, mainly because requested information was not received by press time.

After the story was published, however, several officials voiced a protest about the rating.

“We not only comply, but we endeavor to ensure that we are disclosing all of the information that the person is seeking, within the law,” said James C. Pitts, Bow town manager.

Reporters went to the towns in the Neighborhood News coverage area and asked for information from the town offices, school districts and police departments. Towns and schools were asked for the latest meeting minutes and employee salaries, and police were asked for lists of arrest and police activities.

Some misunderstanding about what information was being asked for, as well as other extenuating circumstances resulted in the requested documents not being received by reporters by press time.

In the case of Bow town salaries, business administrator Bob Levan attempted to call the reporter to verify what exactly was being asked for, but dialed an incorrect number, so the question was never received.

Pitts said he is sure the information would have been forthcoming if a second connection had been made. Selectmen meeting minutes were given immediately upon request.

But Pitts did agree that questioning the reporter about why they wanted the information, which happened at the Municipal Building and at the Police Department, was inappropriate, though not a direct violation of the Right to Know Law.

“That shouldn’t have happened,” he said.

Pitts is a municipalities representative on the state Right to Know Oversight Commission. Members are attempting to amend the law to bring it into the current century, he said, mainly to benefit governing bodies of three people in smaller towns, who can’t make emergency decisions if some of their members are out of town. This happens often in towns in the North Country, he said, and the law does not allow decisions to be made unless a meeting is posted ahead of time.

As far as the Bow Police Department’s compliance, Pitts said the difference between asking for the log and the arrest list could mean as much as 200 pages, so a written request is asked for to make sure police give the information that is required.

The police keep the information about activities on a computer to be able to get it to the public in a timely manner, said Bow Police Chief Jeff Jaran in a letter to the editor of The Bow Times.

The department provides police log information to the paper each week.

“If additional requests other than what is provided to the media come into the station, there is a check and balance system in place to ensure that a person’s private information is not given out inadvertently,” Jaran said.

He said by requiring written requests, the police ensure the protection of personal information, while providing exactly what a person is looking for to avoid claims they did not receive what was originally requested.

At SAU 67, the reporter’s request for teacher salaries was directed to Duane Ford, the district’s business administrator, who was out of the office and did not return a phone message left for him until after deadline.

School Superintendent Dean Cascadden said the information would have been provided without question. He also likes to have a written record of the request to remind him of the exact nature of the inquiry.

“That’s how I do business,” he said. “Everything open and above board.”

Bow resident Richard Wombolt said he didn’t know much about the Right to Know Law until he read the story.

“The law is a good thing,” he said. “You do have a right to know what’s going on in towns. You vote and pay taxes, so you should have the right to know.”

It’s your right to know – Not all officials comply with requests for public documents – Hopkinton does well, Bow fails our test

Bow Editor — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:02:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

Have you ever wondered how much your child’s teacher is paid? How about what happened at the last school board or selectmen’s meeting? Or whether your neighbor was arrested in that commotion last week?

You have every right to get that information, but it may not be easy to do so.

Neighborhood News investigated accessibility to such public documents by having staffers ask for town and school minutes and salaries as well as the list of arrests and police calls in the previous week.

We did not identify ourselves as reporters in order to see how the general public would be treated when making such requests.

Adhering not only to the letter but also the spirit of the Right to Know Law are Windham and Candia, where town hall workers went out of their way to make sure we had everything we asked for and more.

Overall, the 16 towns in our coverage area do well at releasing minutes of town and school meetings. Ask for salaries or arrests, however, and public servants are protective of this information, some to the point of refusing to release it at all.

The towns which complied immediately with all our requests for town and school minutes and salaries plus a list of arrests were Windham, Pelham, Dunbarton, Hopkinton and New Boston.

Failing our requests were the police departments in Allenstown, Auburn, Bedford, Bow, Goffstown, Hooksett, Pembroke and Weare. The town halls in Allenstown and Bow refused to release town salaries at all, while Bedford, Hooksett and Salem put us off with having to make a request in writing. All 16 town halls immediately gave us minutes for their town council or selectmen meetings.

At the school district offices, all gave us the school minutes we asked for. The Bow, Bedford and Weare SAUs refused to release school salaries, while SAU 66 (Hopkinton), SAU 19 (Goffstown, New Boston and Dunbarton) and SAU 28 (Windham/Pelham) complied. There seemed to be confusion over what we asked for at SAU 15 (Hooksett, Candia and Auburn) and SAU 53 (Pembroke, Allenstown and Epsom), so we did not receive salary information by press time, but they both seemed to be working on the request.

Bow News : local government

Paper’s test gets strong reaction – Bow says it complies with Right to Know Law

It’s your right to know – Not all officials comply with requests for public documents – Hopkinton does well, Bow fails our test