Citizens, officials seek ombudsman's help on public records matters

Phoenix - When community activist Anna Marsolo asked to review permits for a Cave Creek resort, she said the town's Building Safety Department first responded that it had no permits.

Then it sent an e-mail saying the resort had filed for permits.

By then, 20 days had passed and Marsolo still didn't have the records she wanted.

Marsolo decided to contact the state Office of Ombudsman-Citizens' Aide, which as of this year has the power to review disputes over public records and open meetings.

Elizabeth Hill, the assistant ombudsman for public access, contacted the town clerk. Two days later, the town provided Marsolo the permit file.

"This is probably the greatest thing since sliced bread in our state," said Marsolo, who has a long history of wrangling with town officials. Hill's involvement helped Cave Creek fix the issue in a timely manner, Town Clerk Carrie Dyrek said.

"Clearly, it took us longer than normal. It was somebody's fault here," Dyrek said.

In its first seven months, Hill's office handled 205 inquiries involving public records access, two-thirds of them from people such as Marsolo: citizens wanting to review records.

Yuma City Attorney Steve Moore said he has dealt with Hill on a handful of cases and that she has been helpful in clearing up citizens' uncertainty over access laws.

"She has been sensitive to the concerns of the people and the city," Moore said. "When we have a difference of opinion, we are able to come to a mutual agreement."

Many of the inquiries to Hill result from simple misunderstandings such as citizens not understanding what records are available or government officials not understanding the state's public records law, Hill said.

"Often, we are helping people narrow a request for records or clearing up confusion between the two sides," she said.

"This is a great resource because until this office was established, the only recourse people had was to go to court."

While Hill's office can mediate disputes, review the documents in question and make recommendations, she can't force agencies to release records. That means a dispute could still wind up in court; however, Hill said she's aware of no case that has gone that far.

Hill provided the details of Marsolo's case. The names of those seeking help from the ombudsman's office remain secret by law, but Hill shared Marsolo's name with Marsolo's permission.

Hill also educates and provides counseling to government bodies. A quarter of the office's inquiries have come from agencies seeking an opinion on access matters.

Not everyone is convinced that the new position is everything Arizona needs to safeguard public records access.

The original idea of the public access ombudsman was to give its decisions legally binding power, according to Daniel Barr, an attorney with the Phoenix law firm of Perkins Coie Brown and Bain and lead counsel for the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona.

"It can help clear up confusion, but it has no teeth," Barr said. "The government doesn't have any real incentive to comply."

"It's just too early to tell if it's working," said David Cuillier, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Arizona who serves as co-vice chair of the national Society of Professional Journalists' Freedom of Information Committee.

"The main factor is: Are those at the top buying in? Do the governor, the attorney general and the Legislature believe in accountability, or are they just paying it lip service?" he said.

Hill said the office is providing a much-needed service to Arizonans. "We don't have enforcement, but we are informally resolving these disputes."

Barr and Cuillier said Hill's office isn't a practical option for the news media, which frequently battle with public bodies over records. In such cases, the information often is time-sensitive and delayed access can eliminate its value, they said.

In its first seven months, just 9 percent of the cases Hill's office handled were from the news media.

One of Cuillier's journalism students, Siobhan Daniel, tried to obtain an electronic database on cars stolen in Tucson. After more than two weeks, the Tucson Police Department directed her to summary information on its Web site and then denied her request outright. That's when Daniel contacted Hill.

Daniel said Hill was extremely helpful in dealing with the police department, and she got access to the data within days.

"Liz was great, I didn't have to constantly call her. She would update me to let me know how things were progressing," Daniel said.

Tucson police didn't respond to a call and to several e-mails seeking comment on Daniel's case.