April 29, 2004

As Taser use grows, so do safety concerns: Police keep all kinds of statistics that are public record. Amy C. Rippel and Pedro Ruz Gutierrez rely on stun gun use records to help explore safety concerns surrounding the devices, also known as Tasers. “Since the Orange Sheriff's Office introduced the shock guns in 2001, Taser use has gone up dramatically among deputies. In 2001, Tasers were used 228 times, records show. By 2003, they were used 510 times, or 77.6 percent of the time over other forms of weapons, including chemical spray and guns.” The reporters explore Taser-related deaths and also review the frequency of taser use in some other Central Florida police agencies. The public records handbook profiles law enforcement use of force reports on Page 315 and medical examiner records on Page 28.

April 28, 2004

3 parking department workers suspended in probe of e-mails: Public records often provide insights on how public employees use their time and taxpayer resources. E-mail records reviewed by Andy Reid of The Tampa Tribune bolster this story about three city employees suspended after an investigation turned up e-mails of pornographic materials and racist references. Notes the story: “A review of city archives on Tuesday showed e-mails shared among various parking department employees that included nude pictures and jokes about ethnic groups.” One of the e-mails refers to ``bad towel-heads'' and ``good towel-heads,'' displaying a picture of Osama bin Laden and a naked woman with a towel wrapped around her head. The story says a letter to the mayor’s office from a parking facilities supervisor’s attorney raised employment discrimination issues. The public records handbook covers e-mail records on Page 140 and employee personnel files on Page 239.

April 26, 2004

Shuttered adult care owners plan to sue state: The pre-lawsuit notices that potential plaintiff’s file against state and local agencies are public record. The records advance this story by William Cooper Jr. of the Palm Beach Post about the owners of a day care center who plan to sue the state for false arrest and other claims. The state shut down the Dawson Adult Day Care Center last year after the owners – a mother and son – were charged with neglecting their patients. However, the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office later dropped charges against them, and the Dawsons claim they were victims of an overzealous Medicaid fraud investigator from the Florida Attorney General’s Office. “Dawson Adult Care was no stranger to state officials. Various state agencies, including the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration, have files on the home and are familiar with the mother and son operation. Last week, the Agency for Health Care Administration said the Dawsons have accumulated $42,500 in fines for past violations, according to an agency spokeswoman.” This story also relied on e-mails from the State Attorney’s Office. The pre-suit notices are generally filed with the legal counsel for the state agency or local government involved.The public records handbook profiles Florida Agency for Health Care Administration files on adult day care centers on Page 156 and e-mail records on Page 140.

April 23, 2004

Agency blasted in abuse probe: A “blistering” letter from the state attorney in Fort Pierce to the head of the state’s child welfare agency over the handling of a child abuse investigation results in this Miami Herald story by Carol Marbin Miller. In his letter, State Attorney Bruce H. Colton accused Department of Children & Families caseworkers of ''coaching'' two children to falsely accuse their father of sexual abuse, causing a man “who may be innocent to lose his children, while an alcoholic, drug-addicted and neglectful mother was allowed to raise them.” the story says. Wrote Colton: “If the children are telling the truth in their latest statements, the children have been sent on a six-year roller coaster ride of reckless indifference by DCF from which they will probably never recover.'' The story notes that Colton's letter concerns an ongoing dispute between DCF investigators, caseworkers and attorneys in several Central and North Florida counties and Dennis Gaffney, the father of boys ages 16 and 10. The DCF’s Inspector General’s Office is investigating the agency’s action in the case. A PDF link to Colton's seven-page letter accompanies this story. The public records handbook covers inspector general records on Page 251.

House school subsidy would hit Palm Beach County hard: News stories about bills in the state Legislature abound right now as this year’s annual regular session heads for a finale next week. In this piece, S.V. Date and Kimberly Miller of The Palm Beach Post explore how proposals to change the state’s education funding formula stands to impact South Florida, which has traditionally benefited from the existing formula at the expense of the other areas. It may be, the story says, “Miami-Dade and Broward against everybody else” regarding the current proposals. You can find bills by topic and do your own tracking of key legislation through the state’s Florida Online Sunshine Web site. The public records handbook profiles the Web site on Page 216.

April 22, 2004

April 21, 2004

April 20, 2004

German billionaire’s assets released in Miami divorce proceedings: Divorce records are among the most important documents for researching individuals and their assets. Records obtained in Miami by Erik Schelzig of The Associated Press show German billionaire Alexander Otto earned $24 million after taxes and expenses last year. Otto’s American wife, Carrie Otto, filed for divorce in January. She seeks custody of their 2-year-old son, alimony and a share of the couple's assets, the story says. “Alexander Otto, 36, earned $43.2 million before taxes in 2003, according to the records. After taxes and $1.9 million in expenses, his net income was listed at $24.2 million. Otto's expenses included $187,176 in maid services, $24,000 in clothing and $28,636 in pool and lawn service last year. He also spent $2,000 a month on vacations. His assets included $20.2 million in cash, $37 million in stocks and bonds and $83 million owed to him. Otto also listed properties in Antigua, Monaco and Hamburg, Germany.” Forbes Magazine pegs the Otto family worth at $8 billion in large part due to its ownership of Otto GmbH & Co., the world's largest mail-order company. The public records handbook covers divorce records on Page 130.

April 19, 2004

Unexpectedly high tax bills stun new homeowners: Brittany Wallman and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel analyzed more than 23,000 home sales to show how taxing The Florida Save Our Homes Act can be for Floridians who buy an existing home. Under the act, how much tax bills can go up in a year is limited for existing property owners – but purchasers take the full hit on a reassessed tax bill. The Sun-Sentinel review of sales from 2002 “shows nearly 80 percent of buyers nearly 80 percent of buyers are paying as much as $2,000 more in property taxes than the previous owners did.” Sixteen percent encountered tax increases of more than $2,000. “Proportionately, the hardest hit are those who buy lower-priced homes, especially in cases where buyers pay in the low- to mid-$100,000s. Many of them are shelling out as much as four times more in property taxes than the previous owners.” The public records handbook profiles property appraisal records on Page 322, deeds on Page 113 and property tax rolls on Page 326.

Charity director uses funds for personal benefit: It’s hard to tell about the scope of public records used in this story just by reading it. But David Kidwell of the Miami Herald reviewed internal records and credit card receipts from one of South Florida’s best-known charities to determine the executive director used charity sources for his own gain. The story says the executive director of Camillus House used his employees and homeless clients to renovate his own homes with thousands of dollars in labor and materials bought on the charity's credit cards. The story says city records showed no building permits for the renovations. The public records handbook covers building permits on Page 58 and records on charitable groups seeking solicitations on Page 68.

Top three sheriff candidates raise more than $68,500: Campaign finance reports are essential for following political campaigns at any level. The records from the Lake County Supervisor of Elections Office fuel Jamie Anderson-Potter’s report in the Leesburg Commercial about fundraising among Lake County sheriff’s candidates. “Three candidates lead the way with more than $68,500 between them … The other seven candidates combined gathered an additional $3,000.” So far, Leesburg Attorney Chuck Johnson leads the pack with $31,159 while Lt. Sandy Carpenter of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is second at $20,430. The report covers the first three months of the year. The next report is scheduled for release July 12 and will measure campaign contributions through June 30. The public records handbook covers campaign finance reports on Page 60.

April 15, 2004

Commissioners aren’t marked absent often: Cindy Swirko of the Gainesville Sun checked meeting attendance records for this story on how Alachua County commissioners juggle meetings with other demands on their time. “A review of attendance at 2003 regular commission meetings showed that three commissioners attended every one, while two others missed two meetings each. Most also had fairly good attendance at special commission meetings, though none attended all of them.” Attendance records are worth checking from time to time for citizens and reporters who observe government agencies and their leaders. The public records handbook covers minutes of public boards and agencies on Page 284.

April 13, 2004

April 12, 2004

Cell phone records reveal calls between elected leaders: Cell phone records reviewed by Janine A. Zeitlin of the Naples Daily News raise questions about whether Bonita Springs City Council members are doing business outside government in the sunshine laws. Records show the city’s elected leaders called each nearly 70 times over six months outside of regularly scheduled council meetings, although the city officials involved say the calls were strictly social or personal. The story notes Florida's open government laws prohibit elected officials from talking about issues that could come before the council for a vote outside of advertised public meetings. The records show one of the longest calls between council members was 12 minutes during the afternoon after a heated morning City Council meeting when city officials rejected the Taxpayer Action Group of Bonita Spring's proposal to curb city spending on the March ballot. The public records handbook covers cell phone records on Page 350.

Web site shows status of school construction: Local government offerings of public information on the Web are constantly expanding. Marc Freeman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes about a new Palm Beach County School Board Web site that offers visitors a “hard-hat” view of school construction. Using the site, visitors can find a project through a school map or search by school name. “Each project has its own Web page, complete with links to a week-by-week photo history, field reports, building cost, estimated completion date, names of site officials and more.” School officials say they are making constant improvements to the site. If you local government has a nifty new Web site or a useful old one, let me know and I’ll share it with readers of this page. The public records handbook profiles state and local construction project records as part of the bids and contracts entry on Page 33.

April 9, 2004

April 6, 2004

Charter school poor in review: School system reviews of charter schools can be a big deal to parents and the schools themselves. Mid-year review records obtained by Beth P. Krane of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reveal “two-year-old Charter School of Boynton Beach lacks properly certified teachers and needs to improve its financial reporting and services for special needs students.” The Palm Beach County School District’s findings of eight deficiencies in 16 categories follows a review last year that pinpointed problems that school officials later fixed. Among the most recent findings: The school lacks a certified special-education teacher on staff and isn’t giving special-education students the services outlined on their tailored learning plans as required by state and federal law.

April 5, 2004

April 2, 2004