ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SaTurDay, FeBruary 26, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
What’s a
reasonable
fee system
for public
records?
I
n Oregon government, there are
the wise, the not so wise and every-
thing in between. And one thing
that binds them all and can expose them
all is Oregon’s public records law.
Write an email. Send a text. Draft a
report. Create a chart. With some excep-
tions, if it’s the work of a school board,
state government or another government
body, it’s a public record. The public can
get it, and learn more of what’s going on
and what’s going on behind the decisions.
But as useful as Oregon’s public
records laws could be, the laws can be
a mess to get right. The toughest ques-
tions can be how much to charge.
Many government agencies will fulfill
simple requests for free. Anything more
than that and it can get expensive.
Oregon’s Public Record Advisory Coun-
cil is trying to help the state navigate to a
better way of calculating what to charge.
Last week it heard from people who handle
public records requests from larger state
agencies, the Oregon Health Authority, the
Department of Human Services, the Oregon
State Police and the Department of Correc-
tions. There were some common themes,
though they were not the official posi-
tions of state government or the agencies.
A suggestion for changing the law has
been to do away with fees. They can be
like a wall blocking the public from public
information. Laura Heathcock, who works
in the central records section for the Oregon
State Police, said fees are important. They
can be the only tool she has to convince
people they should refine a large request.
State agencies don’t have uniform
means of storing records or even uniform
means within a state agency. Even captur-
ing relevant emails is not so simple as a
keyword search. The searches will bring
up many irrelevant emails, many emails
that need to have information that needs
to be redacted. The work involved in
going through and translating emails
into a PDF format also is time-consum-
ing and intensive. The state doesn’t have
a standardized program to automate it.
The state does offer partial and total
fee waivers for some requests made in
the “public interest.” And fees are some-
times waived for nonprofits and journal-
ists. Cheré LeFore, Public Records Unit
manager, Department of Human Services,
says the state’s chart for determining if
someone should get a waiver needs to be
simplified. It can be difficult to apply. One
question state records workers encoun-
ter is determining who should be consid-
ered a journalist. Only traditional media
organizations? What about people who
say they are freelance journalists?
And then there is determining what
to charge for the requests. Jeanne Wind-
ham, the public records coordinator for
the Oregon Health Authority, doesn’t
charge unless a request takes more than
10 hours. She does not charge for search-
ing and gathering records. She does charge
for preparing and redacting records.
Other state agencies do it differently.
What’s a reasonable fee system for
public records? We don’t know, yet. But
a one-size-fits-all policy for govern-
ment bodies from those with thousands
of employees to those with a few seems
doomed to flounder. That is, without more
state money spent to keep the costs of
public records reasonable for the public.
YOUR VIEWS
Taxi operator singing
the blues, claims
competition as unfair
“We’ve been operating this way
for more than 20 years, and it works.”
That’s the rationale coming out of
city hall in the Elite Taxi versus Uber
debate. Maintaining the status quo
just doesn’t get it in a rapidly chang-
ing market. Until the issue arose of
allowing ride-hailing businesses
such as Uber and Lyft to operate
in Pendleton, most residents didn’t
realize how the city’s public transpor-
tation system and Elite Taxi service
have become so intertwined.
Decisions by our city management to
provide Elite Taxi with excessive subsi-
dies in the form of equipment, i.e. hand-
icapped vans, buses and a taxi-ticket
subsidy system, have essentially put
them in control of our complete public
transportation system, leaving failure
due to any form of competition from an
outside source an unacceptable option.
There are reasons why ride-hail-
ing businesses have flourished. The
public’s needs are just not being met by
existing taxi and bus services. When a
city councilor offers a rather unflatter-
ing evaluation of the taxi service, you
know there are problems. I suspected
Uber had been operating in Pendleton
for quite some time. Conversations with
tourists confirmed those suspicions
during the last Pendleton Whisky Music
Fest. So why the sudden concerns?
Could it be the decline in the taxi-
ticket/handicapped program ridership
that now requires storage of vans and
buses the city has purchased? Were they
ever really needed? What’s next? Will
they go after the Pendleton Round-Up
Association’s shuttle/taxi service in the
future? Will the scooters be the next
target?
By constructing a new storage facil-
ity with amenities such as a public
lobby, locker room, restroom, break
room, equipment storage, office space, a
wash rack and a price tag of $2 million,
could this building be something more
than a storage barn? It’s quite a facil-
ity for a department with no employ-
ees. What are they not telling us? Is
this some nefarious plan by Pendleton
Public Works Director Bob Patter-
son and company to further subsidize
Elite Taxi by providing a new opera-
tions facility without public approval
by circumventing a bond vote? Perhaps
an agreement with Clearview, a busi-
ness with a fleet of handicap accessible
vans, might have been a more beneficial
arrangement for everyone, everyone
except the taxi company.
One of our city councilors recently
suggested city management should put
more emphasis on projects that directly
benefit city residents. Who does this
new facility benefit? Certainly not our
residents.
Rick Rohde
Pendleton
Vote to save democracy,
but investigate too
Please vote in the 2022 elec-
tion. Whether Democrat, Republi-
can, Independent or nonaffiliated,
the American government is under
attack and you must be heard.
American elections have been
challenged with unjustified claims to
question their validity. Voter suppres-
sion is common in many states through
purging registrations and making it
physically difficult to cast a ballot.
The forces behind this effort to over-
throw the American government
seem willing to go to any lengths to
accomplish their purpose. What is the
purpose of armed poll watchers?
The “foot soldiers” of this group
are the “Oath Keepers,” the “Proud
Boys” and associated groups of
“white supremacists.” Now comes
the Republican National Commit-
tee , which defined the riot of Jan. 6
at our nation’s Capitol as “legitimate
political discourse.” These groups
have not shown a desire for peace-
ful discussion, just the opposite.
When completing the election ballot,
it is important to know the background
of our candidates and not just their
rhetoric. Unfortunately for those of us
with Republican leanings, endorsement
from the RNC, which is sympathetic
to a violent takeover of the govern-
ment, should be a “red flag” and further
research would be justified. Don’t
just vote the party line. Investigate.
The extremists on both sides count
on the majority in the middle failing to
vote. Save American democracy. Vote.
David Ebbert
Enterprise
Thank you, Hermiston
One of the beautiful things about
Hermiston that has been revealed over
the past two years is the community’s
dedication to putting small differences
aside and focusing on the big issues.
These have been difficult and trying
times for everyone. We have all had
different beliefs and ideas about how to
respond to the virus, protect our fami-
lies and endure setbacks.
But in Hermiston I have seen people
committed to living together, despite
these differences. The schools are a
common space where all our children
learn and grow together. I have seen
the investment from people across the
ideological spectrum to ensuring our
students are receiving the best educa-
tion possible.
I want to share my deepest thanks to
the Hermiston community for stepping
up for kids through this pandemic. We
are truly a diverse community, and that
diversity has been an important part of
our strength.
I am so grateful to live and work in
a community willing to put our future
first.
Tricia Mooney,
Hermiston