Public records requests surge across Blackford County, adding hours to stretched offices

Public records requests to local government offices in Blackford County have jumped this year. Officials in the county, Hartford City and Montpelier say they answer them on top of their regular jobs, with no staff specifically assigned to the work.

A Ledger estimate puts the cost at about $65 to $110 in public wages per request. Across the offices we have data on, that adds up to roughly $8,000 to $9,000 a year, and that's only about 40% of the overall offices that fill records requests.

Most of that comes from the Auditor's office. Auditor Lisa Simmons said her staff spends about six hours a week on requests.

A sharp rise

The Ledger asked offices in all three governments the same six questions about records requests. Every office that could compare this year to past years reported an increase.

The Blackford County Auditor's office received about 60 to 70 requests this year, according to Auditor Lisa Simmons. Last year it received about 10. In earlier years it averaged about five.

Hartford City Clerk-Treasurer Dana Whatley said she had about three requests in the six years before this one.

"This year has been quite different, and I have a feeling that it will be the new normal going forward," Whatley wrote.

Blackford County Sheriff Jim Heflin said his office received about a dozen requests this year, "which is more than in previous years."

Who does the work

No office that responded has an employee whose job is specifically filling records requests.

In the Auditor's office, requests go to whichever employee handles that type of record. "These responsibilities are in addition to everyone's regular job duties," Simmons wrote.

Pitts said every employee in her office handles requests in addition to their regular duties. Her office keeps court files and election records, and it also handles marriage licenses, tax warrants, bonds and sheriff sales.

Heflin said he handles most of his office's requests himself.

"We operate with minimal staffing, and our employees already have demanding duties," Heflin wrote. "I have chosen to take on this responsibility rather than add it to their workload."

When a request involves something new, Heflin said, he consults the office's attorney about what can be released and what must be redacted.

Why requests take time

Officials named several things that slow a request down.

Paper records. Simmons said claims and payroll records in her office are kept mainly on paper. After each State Board of Accounts audit, records move to attic storage in boxes. Staff must search those boxes by hand when older records are requested.

Simmons said the office keeps paper to preserve original documents and to meet record-retention and audit requirements. She said scanning large amounts of old paper "would require significant staff time and resources."

Vague requests. Every office that responded said broad or unclear wording adds time.

AI-written requests. Heflin said some of his most time-consuming requests "appear to use AI-generated language, including some submitted by law offices."

"They sometimes contain technical terms or ask for information the requester may not fully understand," Heflin wrote. He said that means extra work to figure out what is actually being requested.

Video. Heflin said requests involving video take especially long to gather and review.

What officials want residents to know

Officials offered advice for anyone filing a request.

Send it to the right office. Heflin said requests for Sheriff's Office records have gone to city government, the county commissioners and the auditor. The sheriff is elected separately, and the commissioners do not oversee his office.

Give details. Pitts said marriage licenses and divorce decrees are filed by the month and year they were recorded, not by name. Requests that include those dates get filled faster.

Ask for records that exist. Heflin said Indiana's public records law covers existing records. Offices are not required to write new reports, calculate statistics or build custom compilations.