Is Asheville’s government transparent?

Posted on by David Forbes

Readers, we’d like to know your experience with local government transparency, especially with regards to open records.

As Sunshine Week, highlighting the importance of open government and the freedom of information, draws to close, I think it’s important to turn the focus on the general public’s encounters with government.

After all, we do this for a living. Part of our job is to know how to request records, follow up, and try to get what we need to inform the public. Bluntly, we get paid to do this. From that vantage point, it’s easy to lose sight of how government does (or doesn’t) work for the vast majority.

So please tell us how well local government works for you. Are city (or county) staff helpful or do your requests fall on deaf ears? How easy do you find it to get the information you needed? What information do you want to see made public?

Comments welcome below or at dforbes [at] mountainx.com, if you don’t feel like sharing your story publicly.

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4 thoughts on “Is Asheville’s government transparent?”

  1. glolady

    This is a joke right? When I gave the Mountain X information regarding Video Sales Tax and PEG Revenues received by City and County, Instead of requesting the figures yourself, you contact “Wanda Greene” who states the figures are incorrect.

    Public Access, the People’s Voice was taken away from the people by Buncombe County Commissioners and Asheville City Council.

    That IS the Only Place where We The People Can Find The Truth. All other Media Is Bought and Sold to the Highest Bidder.

    With all the evidence pointing to the corruption in our local government, getting rid of all computers and secure shredding of documents points to a BIG COVER UP….. NOT TRANSPARENCY!!!

    • bill smith

      Oh, sweetie. You guys screwed up URTV, and lost your contract. Stop blaming ‘the government’ for your own inability to sign paperwork properly. You sound like the GOP.

    • bill smith

      Oh, sweetie. You guys screwed up URTV, and lost your contract. Stop blaming ‘the government’ for your own inability to sign paperwork properly. You sound like the GOP.

  2. D. Dial

    Might as well hang it up Bill, that’s a brick wall.
    At the least ineptitude, to the worst gross mismanagement gave the City and County the ammo to shut it down. They were looking for an out, and they got it. Poor management gave the County’s public access channel funds to be used for whatever, back to the gub-ment on a silver platter.

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