Reach for a star... by meeting every Sunshine Law requirement. Then
add
best practices from the list below to achieve a multiple-star rating
best practices from the list below to achieve a multiple-star rating
Resources
- Auditor's Bulletin Announcing StaRS
Auditor of State Bulletin - For Online Sunshine Laws Training
Sunshine Laws Training - Public Record Request Form
- Search for your government's StaRS Rating
- Sunshine Week:
Auditor Faber Releases Second-Year StaRS Report
Stars Rating
-
Open and Transparent Government
- Meets all Sunshine Law requirements.
-
Achievement in Open and Transparent Government
- Implemented 1-2 best practices *
-
Outstanding Achievement in Open and Transparent Government
- Implemented 3-4 best practices *
-
Highest Achievement in Open and Transparent Government
- Implemented 5 or more best practices *
-
Sunshine Law requirements not fully achieved
- For help achieving compliance, go to Sunshine Laws Training
*Best Practices
To create an open and transparent government, the AOS suggests implementing the following best practices.
Note: These suggestions are not required by Ohio's Sunshine Laws.
1 The public office employs a method to track public
records requests, such as record requested, date received and date provided.
2 To assist the public in making a request for records
the public office has standard request forms that are available to requestors to use if they wish, as
well as for the staff to use when a request is made via phone.
3 The public office provides an acknowledgment to the
requestor when a public
records request is received, consistent with how the request was made.
4 To assist the public in making a request for records,
the public office has
publicized (website, public records poster, etc.) the name or office title of the
records custodian and his/her contact information. Further, the public office’s staff
has been trained on how to route public records requests to the record custodian,
who also has been trained on fulfilling the public records requests, including
guidelines for negotiating ambiguous or large requests.
5 All elected officials or their designees, as well as
community school administrators, have taken the required public-records training within the applicable time frame.
6 The public office has an online presence that provides
the office’s agendas, policies, and schedules.
7 The
public office has an online presence that provides access to official documents, such as the annual budget,
salaries, and contact information.