MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In lieu of citizen complaints about the efficiency of the city’s open records polices, Mayor A C Wharton spoke out on how he planned to respond to a report calling for major changes.
“The report is already there, Mr. Carpenter’s report, and we have been working on that report ever since we received it, ” Wharton said.
In 2009, Wharton issued an executive order to make city government transparent.
Six years later, Wharton asked former Shelby County Commissioner Mike Carpenter, the head of the Plough Foundation, to review the city’s transparency and its deficiencies.
“We’ll have to come up with additional personnel to do this, but the right for the public to know is worth it and we’re going to transfer it and do a better job,” said Wharton.
The report issued 23 recommendations including the appointment of a public records ombudsman, a records oversight committee, and upgrading public records technology.
It also suggested a ‘Rolling Release’ of information to avoid the appearance of stalling in hopes a request will go away.
Some argued there was a need for transparency when it came to answers about the recent drownings at city pools involving children and the lack of working cameras to monitor them.
“We are still trying to narrow down the answers to a number of questions. One, when was the city notified there was a problem with the technology? We simply don’t have an answer and soon we’ll release the entire report,” he said.
The hope was to eventually strike more of a balance between government and the public’s right to know.
