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Show February 25, 2004 SunNe0s 3 Guest Editorial to retail Using GRAMA publics record is wrong Bonnie Miller, Intermountain on the committee and found that Commercial Record the public should not pay for public record access, only for copUtah state and local governments have reached the ultimate ies. in a Still, the states business entrepreneurial venture aimed at selling access plan was incomplete. Governto government records for profit. ment agencies saw any use of House Bill 287, Government public records-lik- e publishing Records Access and Manage- civil court records for businesses ment Act Revisions is one more to keep track of dead beats-a- s a bill in a series of acts designed gold mine and made access difto fit state and local ficult. They tried selling computer governments business plans. If access to the public, but it was H.B. 287 passes, public records expensive. Employees of the Dewill be retailed to the public at partment of Commerce tried to sell access at local business fair marker prices. Government agencies will meetings to drum up clients." be permitted to contract with They also considered adcompanies, sole source, and vertising the sale of records and control by ordinance or policy the services. But, after the fourth atduplication and distribution of tempt to develop software, and the material. Step by step, gov- two and a half years later, the ernment has manipulated and state contracted a private busiamended the Government ness to sell the states records. Records Access Management This newspaper (Intermountain Act, GRAMA, to tighten agency Commercial Record) received control over and prevent public four sales calls in the first two record access to records, held weeks. Whether the bidding was open ended or not, remains a hostage in government computers, by erecting physical and f- mystery. But Utah became one of the few states that sole source inancial barriers. Local and state govern- the sale of government records, ments have the responsibility to thus taking a partner in retailing .collect, store and manage records. H.B. 287 will erect adrecords, for which taxpayers pay. ditional financial barriers to the While some records are private, publics records and each closed or confidential, other departments budget increased records are open to public in- by this hidden tax on the public. Decades ago, the federal spection. Most court cases are offiminutes from are as government tried sole source open cial government meetings. His- records, but the price rose to $20 torically, these records were a page. Thereafter, Republican called public records. presidents decided that governA copy of a public record ment should warehouse, not rewas 25 cents and computer re- tail records. All of which brings ports took but a few key strokes. us to the crux of H.B. 287. This Prior to the passage of GRAMA, bill allows state and local agenrecords called public records cies to resell public records and changed name and ownership to reports, already paid for with taxgovernment records. Despite payers money for fair market the task forces failure to endorse prices. When businesses sell at fair government agencies efforts to market contents the prices they must include copyright GRAMA task force voted it down. overhead, employees, raw materials, sales, and taxes. And, Only the right to copyright Olymand items, pic logos, private individuals and busicomparable was accepted by the task force. nesses must depend on demand H.B. 287 treats public records and profit to stay in business. and reports as copyrighted ma- Government has can be charged terial that citizens must purchase for extra employees, unused to access. Thus computerization of computer software purchases, records, which should have pro- and overhead. Historically, govmoted efficiency and freed staff ernment was not to provide serfrom endless hunting, now vices the free market can not. Nor should government serves as a physical barrier to record access. compete with established busBefore the ink was dry on inesses and increase the bureauthe 1990 GRAMA bill, state and cracy to do so. Why shouldnt local government agencies met government agencies sell pubto amend into the act what they lic records, arbitrarily set prices had failed to accomplish in the and compete with private busd diverse and inesses which add value to the GRAMA task force. Instead of data? The answer is in what charging just a set per copy makes our country different than price, Utahs agencies acquired the centralized governments like the right to retain the proceeds Russia and China. As an example, the only way from the copies-- a huge incentive and opportunity for a new rev- to obtain a list of business comenue source. plaints against businesses which were dismissed was by paying For example, the Departfor of all actions. We a printout testified ment of Transportation before the committee and admit- supplied the paper and awaited ted the cost savings of installing the results. The results came in a computer for public access to hundreds of pages and cost $900- - it took a few key strokes documents, however, they also call it up. The results were the to said they preferred to continue of 32 businesses that names charging $1 per copy and doing had cases dismissed, and they the search themselves because were printed in the newspaper they counted on the additional not a mine. ten-ye- ar Ask A Specialist by Utah State University Extension DO YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON SOIL TESTING? is a scale from 1 to 14, with 1 being extremely acidic and 14 very Answer by: Jerry Goodpseed, USU Extension horticulturist As with humans, when a plant is sick, it looks miserable for a while, receives extra water, gets thrown some expensive granules, and is expected to get better. However, when the plant dies, we are surprised at its lack of stamina, then place a new one in the same spot. When that one dies, we scratch our heads and wonder why we have such poor luck with plants. As with humans, there are tests that can be run to help diagnose problems in the landscape. One that is very effective is a soil test. It is the first thing that should be done when problems persist in the landscape. The test analyzes essential components that may cause problems in the soil. It is also a good indicator of how to correct the problem. Here is what a soil test will show. Texture. The texture of soil is the percentage of sand, silt and clay. This indicates whether the soil is heavy in clay or has a high sand content. Knowing the texture helps determine irrigation needs. It also makes a difference when it comes to selecting plants and deciding which will grow well in an area and which will not. Lime. The lime content of soil is the percentage of carbonates. This is not a problem in northern Utah. We have more than enough lime, and it rarely poses a problem. It is not necessary to add lime to our soils. pH. The pH is a measurement of the acidity of the soil. The pH alkaline or basic. Most of our soils fall in the range of about 75 to 85. This is an acceptable range for most plants. Soil test results may be a little higher or lower than that. This information can help in choosing a more acidic fertilizer or other options when amending the soil. Salt. Some soils are high in salt, which can cause plants to be stunted, thin and susceptible to other problems. Salt levels that are too high do not allow the plant's roots to absorb water properly. Not correcting the problem can lead to perennial problems and frustration. Phosphorus. Most soils in Utah have sufficient phosphorus, but occasionally they are slightly deficient. A soil test indicates how much to apply to supplement plant needs in the landscape. There are often more soils with excess phosphorus than not enough. Knowing that levels are high can be beneficial so you can discontinue applying it to your soil. Potassium. This is another element that is normally abundant in our soils. However, it can become deficient, especially if the topsoil is removed when a new home is built. These are the basic components that are addressed by a soil test. Knowing the amount of these elements in the soil will not solve all plant problems, but will provide a good place to start. A basic soil test kit can be picked up at any Extension office. The kit is free, and the cost of a routine analysis is $14. It is worth the investment to learn how to solve or avoid soil problems. Do You Know Me? Sharon Anderson of Gunnison has collected many old photographs without identification. She is looking for assistance from our readers. If you know who this individual is, give her a call at 528-725We will be publishing several photographs over the next few weeks. This is the second picture we have published. If you dont know this individual, perhaps some ancestor will show up in a future edition of the newspaper. These photos will also be posted on our website www.atelco.netnews. You might know a genealogist in another part of the world that could help identify these photos. 2. Letter To The Editor Like A Good Neighbo- r- walks and driveways and our I Gayle and I never worry entire culdesac while sit in a kitchen nice warm about removing snow from our watching walks and driveways. It's either them through the window. Gary Lund, Boyd Anderson, Joe Gayle and I want to say thanks Parker with their four Wheelers to the best neighbors in the or Jarvie Thompson with is world. Thanks a million. Gayle and Roger Nielson snow blower our Dear Editor, cleaning data-bas- e underwriters-taxpayers-th- at i Hr Sevier Valley Hospital A Service ofIntermountain Health Care 1100 North Main - SPECIALISTS Dr. Allen Surgeon 896-649- 6 Dr. Nakken Orthopedist Podiatrist 896-649- 8 896-649- 7 Dr.Zobell VISITING SPECIALISTS FOR MARCH politically-balance- forfree-certainl- y gold On another occasion, we Why should the taxpayers were told that a report would pay twice or more for staff to take 30 hours to run each time make copies? (Post GRAMA, . we placed an order. However, revenue. the Department raised the the order was charge to $3 dollars per copy.) H.B. 287 will be a turn around for GRAMA. Task force members consistently overcame the arguments of government directors to us three hours after the order was placed. If the state is to go into business, we can only hope the Tax Commission and state auditors will keep them honest? Redmond Irrigation & Buildings F 0 Box 100 John Johnson Office: 225 South 300 West Retail, Utah 846, (43a) 529-124- (435)5290135 r jThe choice is simple. WE CAN SUPPLY ALL OF YOUR IRRIGATION NEEDS, SURFACE & UNDERGROUND N 896-827- 1 i FULL-TIM- E i Richfield Affiliated Health Care Providers |