Salem Observer : New Hampshire

State law is evolving as technology changes

Salem Editor — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:14:00 GMT

The state’s Right to Know Law grants every citizen the ability to inspect countless public records, nearly every piece of information the towns compile, simply by asking for them.

The information is not limited to what is gathered at the town hall; the schools, police and every other public agency must adhere to the same rules.

These rights are nearly as old as the state itself. When the state’s Constitution was adopted in 1784, Part 1, Article 8, said, “All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them.”

This has developed into what is known as RSA 91:A, the Right to Know Law, a constantly evolving document that specifically outlines the rights of citizens, defining what records they have access to and how towns must comply.

“Everything about our society is built on openness,” said Rod Doherty, executive editor of Foster’s Daily Democrat newspaper, and an expert on the Right to Know Law. “Without strong laws for the people in regards to public information we’d be a subdued society.”

The law clearly states that any citizen may examine public records during regular business hours of the public body at its place of business. This means that public officials have no right to ask you any personal information or reason for wanting to see the information.

You may also take notes, photographs or request a copy of the document. The office may only charge you the cost of the copy or any other fee required by law.

If the document exists on a computer, the office must print it out for you, as long as it does not reveal any confidential information.

Electronic communication has been one aspect of the law under the most scrutiny and planned revision by legislators recently.

“Using e-mail or text messages makes the jobs of public officers easier, but it also allows them much more communication outside of the public domain,” said Doherty.

Revising the law to reflect which of these communications to make available has caused much debate among the government, the press and citizens, but a resolution has been hard to reach.

“Unlike a lot of legislation, the Right to Know Law is built on the spirit of the law,” said Doherty. “It’s very hard to define some of the vagaries of the language (especially relating to electronic communication).”

If the office is not able to immediately give you the information, they have five days to make it available; deny the request in writing, giving reasons; or give written acknowledgment of the request and how long it will take to grant or deny the request.

“If there is a flaw, it’s that there is no punishment of any consequence for those who do not follow the law,” said Doherty.

There are, of course, pieces of information that towns have every right to keep to themselves. Broadly speaking, anything that would reveal personal information about a resident or town employee is restricted.

These include students’ school records, internal personnel information, medical information and juvenile court records.

Any confidential commercial or financial documents that could harm the town if released prematurely are also off limits.

Police departments also have specific restrictions on the information they can hand out. Obviously, anything that would interfere with enforcement proceedings, reveal a confidential source or harm someone’s right to a fair trial are excluded from dispersal.

If the document would reveal investigative techniques or otherwise endanger the lives of personnel, it can also be kept private.

Arrests, however, are considered public information, as are the daily activities conducted by a police department.

State volunteerism on the rise

Salem Editor — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 18:03:00 GMT

Editor’s Note: During the month of August, we will spotlight volunteers in our towns. This is the first in a weekly series celebrating those who work, without pay, to better their communities.

BY SUSAN WARE

Volunteers step up when a natural disaster strikes, such as when spring flooding affected local communities. But are the nonprofits working quietly in the background that depend on volunteers to stay afloat getting enough help?

Volunteering is growing in New Hampshire, according to David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service based in Washington, D.C. The group oversees such volunteer programs as Habitat for Humanity, Teach America and Americorps, a sort of domestic Peace Corps, among others.

Eisner’s organization has done extensive research on a state-by-state basis as to where volunteerism levels are right now, where the growing trends are and where the need is. The latest study details volunteering in 2006.

According to Eisner, last year New Hampshire had 330,000 volunteers in the state dedicating 41.1 million hours of service.

“Volunteerism in new Hampshire is doing terrific. It is really exciting, because New Hampshire is in the top five for growth in volunteering since 1989,” said Eisner.

One area with a tremendous need nationwide, said Eisner, is volunteers offering professional services, like lawyers working pro bono and teachers tutoring. The Granite State is one of 17 states with professional services in the top four most popular areas of volunteering, something we should be proud of, said Eisner.

One area that hurts local nonprofits, said Eisner, is professionalism in management. Many nonprofits in general are poorly run and it causes attrition rate to be high, which is costly, said Eisner.

“New Hampshire does not rank well in terms of retention of volunteers. In 2006, only 63 percent of New Hampshire residents returned to volunteer a second year,” said Eisner.

On average, nonprofits lose a third of volunteers every year. One of the focuses of Eisner’s team is to help nonprofits manage themselves more professionally in order to be more efficient and retain quality volunteers.

“Nonprofits need to use volunteers to do meaningful work. Retention is highest when volunteers are using their brain as well as brawn,” said Eisner.

The flip side is nonprofits in the state seem to be able to continually recruit new faces, which Eisner refers to as a “leaky bucket.”

“Today, people have no patience for inefficiency, even in a charity. People won’t stay with an organization that makes them wait or is unorganized. They want their time to be respected,” said Eisner.

A sign of the times

With volunteering at a 30-year high, Eisner points to a disenchantment with the current administration and the war in Iraq as the main reasons for the jump in volunteering.

“When a person feels that hunger isn’t going to get solved at the policy level, they are likely to work in a soup kitchen where they can work on it at an individual level,” said Eisner.

A trend that Eisner is watching carefully is the growing number of Baby Boomers who are volunteering.

“Today, 50 percent more Baby Boomers are likely to volunteer than their counterparts in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s,” said Eisner.

This means there is a growing social capital which this country has never seen before.

“Most haven’t retired yet, but when they do, they will be predisposed to volunteering and have even more time on their hands,” said Eisner.

Like Baby Boomers, another growing trend in volunteering is among 16- to 19-year-olds. According to Eisner, this group is twice as likely to volunteer as any of their peers over the past 30 years.

“America is creating a generation that rivals the generation of people born before World War II, where civic engagement was a focus,” said Eisner.

This is the generation that Margaret Harlan, president of the Hooksett Friends of the Library wants to attract.

A booster group whose goal is to supplement the libraries budget, Harlan said there is basically a core of five volunteers who do it all, and every one of them is over 50 years old.

“We really want to attract the younger generations, because that is how we will be successful in the long run,” said Harlan.

Desperate for volunteers, the Friends of the Library are able to do only a portion of what they would like to do, and what the library needs, said Harlan.

“It is frustrating to me that people don’t seem to find the library important. It’s very easy to get burned out when you don’t have help,” said Harlan.

According to Eisner, trends in volunteering are more pronounced in New Hampshire and it is critical that nonprofits prepare themselves.

“This is very good news for nonprofits in New Hampshire,” said Eisner.