PublicSource | News for a better Pittsburgh (https://www.publicsource.org/tag/transparency/)
Compared to the other five largest PA counties, ACJ was far less transparent in providing its mental health policies. PublicSource appealed ACJ’s decision to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, but the appeal was denied.
Some members of the Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board are insisting on increased transparency and access to jail records. The issue, which was discussed at the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday, was prompted in part by PublicSource’s ongoing reporting on conditions at the jail.
In the past four years, residents and journalists have filed at least 4,540 requests for public records with the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. About half the time, the city or county agreed to release all or some of the records.
While the city granted more records than the county, city records came at a higher price. The city charged requesters a total of $13,000 in copying and other costs, showing its reliance on paper records. In all but six cases, the county released records at no cost and in digital format whenever requested.
With numerous warnings of the financial, public safety and privacy threats that hackers pose to local governments, Pittsburgh officials purposefully give residents little insight on the city’s security flaws.
Except Pittsburgh spilled its own secrets.
