The question of how much contact information for elected and appointed officials should be posted on Bartholomew County’s website will be discussed next month by a 10-member committee.
Input from department heads and the public will likely be sought by the Computer and Data Processing Board, said Bartholomew County Information Technology director and board member Scott Mayes.
Often referred to as the “Data Board,” the group will discuss contact information on the website at 8:30 a.m. May 13 in the fourth floor council chambers in the Bartholomew County Government Office Building at Third and Franklin streets, Mayes said.
It’s likely board members will be asked to form a committee to collect thoughts and concerns of elected officials and the public on website content changes, Mayes said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
In March, county officials were surprised to learn that some telephone numbers and county-assigned email addresses were removed from two links available to the public through the home page of the county’s website.
Bartholomew County Auditor Pia O’Connor, who took office on Jan. 1, said the removals were made at her request.
After a story was published in the March 31 edition of The Republic, county commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said he received a suggestion that the Data Board be assigned the task to review all changes on the county website.
But while that board might make recommendations, two county commissioners say O’Connor will likely maintain the last word on website content.
Except for web pages featuring individual county departments, commissioners Carl Lienhoop and Rick Flohr say the county auditor has traditionally controlled that content.
In contrast, the focus of the 10-member Data Board is usually kept on technical issues, Flohr said.
When asked about addressing recent content removal from the website, Flohr said “we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
While Kleinhenz said he believes data board members should discuss recent website changes, he added “we don’t want to expand the board’s responsibility any more than it already is.”
In addition to removing the public contact information from the website, O’Connor also decided to end the auditor’s office of providing property transfer information to those requesting it in the local real estate community and to the media.
On March 27, she notified a group of about 50 people and real estate-related businesses that she would no longer be providing county property transfer reports as had been done by her office for more than a decade.
Instead, O’Connor said those reports would be issued by Ginny Whipple, the new Bartholomew County Assessor.
Whipple said her office must wait to receive the paperwork from O’Connor’s office. As a result, the report was delayed by about three weeks, and returned to The Republic this past Saturday.
Realtors, appraisers, title companies and the media use that real estate data for research to track property that is being sold in Bartholomew County. All of this information is public record, according to Indiana Open Records laws.
When asked about the change, Barb Hackman, former Bartholomew County auditor and now Bartholomew County treasurer, said she had always considered the property transfer report to be something that was the auditor’s office responsibility, as well as a public service.
In recent weeks, new links have been added to the Bartholomew County home page that includes phone numbers for different county buildings, directions, county news, and citizens alerts, as well as two social media feeds.
But there is still no contact information — including phone numbers or email addresses — on the link for appointed boards, commissions and committees. O’Connor cites both security and privacy concerns for removing that information.
Many who volunteered to serve appointed positions have asked that their phone numbers be removed from the online roster, O’Connor said.
She also expressed concern that hackers might use county-issued email addresses to commit financial fraud, as well as generate spam with computer viruses.
“I think Pia’s head and heart are in the right place,” Mayes said.
However, the county IT director also acknowledged that when previously established contact information is removed, there can be a public perception of a lack of transparency.
He also acknowledged it is common practice in both government and business to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
In addition, Mayes said he understands why people may be uncomfortable when only one email address is provided for all county departments.
Although the one email address does have a department routing menu, residents still have no idea who is reading, routing or receiving messages, he said.
“I think these are all valid points that we want to bring into this conversation,” Mayes said. “The only purpose a county employee has is to serve the public.”
Mayes said he believes there are alternatives that can balance security concerns with providing a sense of transparency in county government.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The Bartholomew County Computer and Data Processing Board will meet next on Monday, May 13th.
The 8:30 a.m meeting will be held in the fourth floor council chambers in the Bartholomew County Government Office Building at Third and Franklin.
Board members include Rick Flohr, Carl Lienhoop, Larry Kleinhenz, Scott Mayes, Joe Meek, Larry Hilkene, Dave Flohr, Mark Gorbett, Dan Greene and Pia O’Connor.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
