Guest Post, Bruce Danielson
Have you heard the expression “hiding in plain sight�
The city of Sioux Falls has found a way to once again hide data while claiming transparency. The webpage https://amv.siouxfalls.org/publicaccess/docs/searchq/ is absolutely worthless.
The basics of open government is present data simple choice of options, in a usable form, with a functional sort order and a presentation of results best usable by requestor.
The City Clerk’s public access page is a failure of huge proportions. First off you have to know the names or phrases before you start or you will receive no results. In other words, you have to know the exact spelling of the report before you can ask the system if it exists. The secret PACs are not listed so anyone could easily review the activity or even if a filing was made.
BTW, do the secret PACs still have money? Notice in the date stamped 1/6/2020 Greg Neitzert filing how the Mayor TenHaken secret Next Generation Leadership PAC gave $250. Now try to find any information on the Next Generation Leadership PAC. Why is the Mayor of Sioux Falls hiding with Joel Dykstra behind a secret PAC to influence who is going to be on the City Council? Any good political operative would have stayed out of (at least publicly) the City Council races. Just think, if Neitzert is defeated, how close do you think the eventual winner is going to be willing to help the loser mayor?
Now back to the unfriendly City Clerk’s search system. There is no simple way to follow a series of events. The results do not a have any dates on the results so you have to research everything presented to see how it fits. A long and frustrating process designed to stop real searches from happening or being attempted.
We have a “supposed†web expert in the big office of City Hall and it actually shows. It shows how to hide data at the same time claiming transparency.