SHADYSIDE, Ohio – Shadyside Village Council unanimously agreed Monday night to post on the official village Facebook page names of those filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Shadyside council will post your name on Facebook…if you make a FOIA request
River News Network contacted the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press about the village’s mandate to pin citizens’ names on the internet’s version of a billboard.
Legal Fellow Ellen Goodman of the committee responded to us to us with a
suggestion. She suggested if Shadyside Village Council really wanted to demonstrate transparency, it would post the requested document along with the requester’s name.
However, since time management was a concern council members listed as a reason for posting names online, attaching the document that citizens requested may also run up the timeclock. Council member Mike Meintel told council members he believes FOIA requests, take up too much of Chief Records Clerk Jerry Elliott’s time.
River News Network will continue to track this story on the River Network radio stations and streaming app and on rivernews.org.
