Opinion
A4
Thursday, December 30, 2021
OUR VIEW
State laws
create an
incentive for
high fees
W
hat’s broken about Oregon’s public
records laws remains broken. And every
year that goes by with it broken, the pub-
lic’s ability to know what its government is doing is
diminished.
Oregon’s public records laws are well-intentioned.
They are also fl awed.
The structure of the law creates a perverse incen-
tive for high fees. Public bodies are not given incen-
tives to make public documents available at low
cost. The laws give them the power to charge rea-
sonable fees to recoup their costs. That gives them
no incentive to keep those costs as low as possible.
And any fee — no matter how small it may seem —
can be like a wall blocking the public from informa-
tion. While there are ways for the public to appeal
decisions to release documents, it’s nowhere near as
simple to get fees reduced.
The problem is easier to understand with exam-
ples. This fi rst one we heard from Rachel Alex-
ander, the managing editor of the Salem Reporter.
She also chairs the Oregon Freedom of Informa-
tion Committee of the Society of Professional
Journalists.
She recently spoke with Oregon’s Public Record
Advisory Council.
Remember earlier this year when then-Oregon
State University president F. King Alexander
resigned? There were questions about his role in the
sexual misconduct investigations at Louisiana State
University. A reporter for the Albany Democrat-
Herald fi led a narrow public records request asking
for email among Alexander and several members of
OSU’s board of trustees. It was emails for a period
of about a week. OSU said it would require an IT
expert to search for emails and came back with a
$250 bill.
A $250 fee might seem like nothing. It’s a barrier.
As you may have heard, most newspapers are strug-
gling for money these days. Many smaller newspa-
pers have zero budgets for public record requests.
The newspaper was only able to get the records
after Oregon’s Society for Professional Journalists
awarded it a grant to do so. The emails showed the
work some members of the board of trustees were
doing behind the scenes to help Alexander craft
messaging.
If the solution to this fee issue were simple, of
course, it would already be fi xed. Many government
agencies have a culture of transparency and open-
ness. They try to be forthcoming about records,
making them available swiftly and at minimal or no
cost.
But even for government agencies with that cul-
ture, not every public records request is easy to
tackle. Sweeping requests may require pouring
through hundreds of emails or documents, taking
signifi cant staff time. Imagine what that would be
like for a small town with few staff .
There are solutions out there. Some states put
limits on what can be charged. Some jurisdictions
bar charging for time spent researching if a record
may be exempt from disclosure. The federal gov-
ernment defi nes what can be charged for FOIA
requests. As Alexander put it, relying on shoestring
eff orts of journalists to crowdfund public records
requests is no solution.
We don’t expect the Legislature will take on this
issue in the short 2022 session. At least another year
will pass with Oregon’s broken public records laws.
It will be another year where the public’s right to
know is diminished.
The strength of small-town America
JEREMY
DAVIS
OTHER VIEWS
year ago, we couldn’t wait
to see 2020 in the rearview
mirror. We eagerly looked
ahead to 2021 hoping for relief from
the pandemic. And then the 2021
roller coaster ride of variants said,
“Buckle up.”
The delta variant was a game
changer. As hospitals large and small
across the nation were hit hard, some
stopped taking patients, and others
found themselves in situations where
rationing care and resources became
a heartbreaking reality.
Thankfully, we did not face those
hard choices here in Union County,
but we did see our COVID cases rise
to unprecedented levels, as our hos-
pital fi lled with younger and sicker
patients. Our battle-weary staff
understandably became disheartened
at times. Each loss was incredibly
personal. As we do our best to lift
each other up, we won’t forget the
losses. But we must always hope for
the best and work to move forward.
The strength of small-town
America has never been more
important to a future of health,
peace and prosperity. I have per-
sonally witnessed that strength.
The resolve and resiliency of the
caregivers we have here at Grande
Ronde Hospital is both humbling
A
and rewarding. I believe more than
ever it is a privilege to live and serve
in a rural community.
I am grateful Grande Ronde also
experienced some tender mercies
and wonderful accomplishments
over the past 12 months. In March
we were notifi ed we made the Top
100 Critical Access Hospital list, one
of just three of Oregon’s 25 CAHs to
do so. With a total of 1,350 CAHs in
the nation, this honor places GRH in
the top 7.4% in performance.
In June we made the full transi-
tion to acquire Blue Mountain Asso-
ciates, a 30-year outpatient mental
health treatment center, adding a
psychiatrist and his care team to
our behavioral health services pro-
gram. This gave GRH a key foun-
dational building block to recruiting
additional providers to an interdisci-
plinary team. We are seeing success
there already, and there will be more
to come on that this summer.
Another project just completed
was moving our infusion services
into the former rehabilitation therapy
and gym space. With a wall of win-
dows and the best view of our beau-
tiful valley from here on the hill,
there are now 10 new, light-fi lled
spaces. Patients who must sit for
hours at a time, often more than
once a week, now have a calm and
healing environment in which to do
so. It was designed specifi cally with
these very special patients in mind.
The good news is that — despite
all the challenges we have had to
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work through — GRH is growing
and moving forward to serve our
community. We have always been
the exception to the rule of small-
town health care. We have always
looked forward at what can be done
to improve our communities’ health
and well-being. It is what drives us.
And because more of you chose to
stay home for care during COVID,
we had the opportunity to show you
who we are today. It was a privilege
to be here when you needed us and
become reacquainted.
When we consider a new ser-
vice, program or big construction
project, we ask: How does this ben-
efi t the health, wellness and quality
of life in our community? Our mis-
sion is to provide the best health care
services in as broad a variety as we
possibly can. All so that you can stay
home for care. We are partners in
your health. And we look forward to
investing further in Union County.
There are more good things to come
in 2022.
We believe in the power of
rural — the strength of small-town
America. We believe in our commu-
nity and in all of you. We believe in
the vision statement that adorns our
walls: “Quality health care is our
mission. Patients are our passion.”
And we truly believe that our best
days lie ahead.
———
Jeremy P. Davis is the president
and CEO of Grande Ronde Hospital,
La Grande.
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