The Indiana Publisher

December 2021 Page 6 Staff reports News Media Alliance Arlington, VA – The News Media Alliance and National Newspaper Association, both long- standing newspaper advocacy orga- nizations with Washington, D.C., area offices, have created a joint policy group to assist their mem- bers in the newspaper industry with postal issues and public policy. NNA, founded in 1885 as Newspaper Editorial Association, will take the lead on postal issues, an area of expertise for its entire history. News Media Alliance, whose legacy organization was founded in 1887, will advise NNA on digital publishing policies, on which it has sharpened its expertise since the breakup of the Bell tele- phone companies in the 1990s. As part of the agreement, the National Newspaper Association Foundation will open its postal training tools to Alliance members and NNA will assist in case- specific postal problems through its Postal Hotline. The Alliance will continue to KPC News Service (Kendallville) News-Sun Finding out how your school — or any local government for that matter — is spending its money is easy. Almost since our state was founded, Hoosier parents have had that important right. This newspaper is a good place to begin your search for informa- tion because local governments are required to advertise their annual budgets in public notices appearing in the local publication of record. Most Indiana governments work on their annual budgets in August, September and October, and that is when those legal advertisements begin appearing in this newspaper. KPC Media Group operates the primary newspapers serv- ing Noble, DeKalb, LaGrange and Steuben counties, therefore, local governments run those legal notices in our publications. They're hard to miss — espe- cially because for the bigger governments, the budget notices are sizable and often take up an entire page or more OK, but what if you're not a subscriber or you miss those notices in print? We've got you covered. Our reporters cover your counties, cities, towns, schools and libraries and, in the fall, it's not uncommon to find coverage of local budget meetings; we report on budget discussions and approvals and detail highlights of what's in the spending plans for next year. Our reporters highlight what's new and what's changing. How much has the budget increased/ decreased? Are there some new items in next year's budget and why? Are new employees being added, major purchases being made or are expenses rising in certain departments? Those stories run in news- print and are also available 24/7 on kpcnews.com in our searchable archive. Even non- subscribers have access to a few free articles per month, so if you haven't used those up viewing other news stories, you'll still be able to access those. But if you're out of free articles, can't find them on the website or don't find the level of detail you want, what else can you do? You can check the Indiana Gateway, a public information portal run by the state including numerous types of local govern- ment documents and information. At gateway.ifionline.org click on "Search for Reports," where you can then find a link for "Budgets." From there, you can access a line-item budget that's searchable by year, coun- ty and then government unit, including county government, your cities and towns, school districts, libraries, townships, even the solid waste manage- ment district and lake conser- vancy districts. Lastly, what if you want to see what your government is spend- ing right now and not just bud- geted for the year? Claims — the bills your local government pays — are public records. Any citizen can request a copy of a claims register or even ask to see individual claims. The Indiana Access to Public Records Act allows all Hoosiers the right to "inspect and copy" public records, so at a bare mini- mum you can review any docu- ments or duplicate them (copying fees may apply). You'll need to know what you're looking for and ask for it with at least some specificity in order for the local government to fulfill your request. Overly broad or intensive requests can be rejected, so provide as much information as you can like approximate date, vendor name or fund — to help local officials find what you're looking for. With the information available in local newspapers such as ours and the access laws enshrined in the Indiana Code, Hoosiers have several avenues to access information about government spending. We hope this encourages you to find and follow information about how your tax dollars are being spent. Informed citizens are essential for a thriving democracy. Editorial: Exercise your right to know how government spends The Indiana Access to Public Records Act allows all Hoosiers the right to "inspect and copy" public records. NMA, NNA agree to combine forces on postal, public policy issues See Group, page 9 Newspaper Association of Managers president Beth Bennett, who also is executive director of he Wisconsin Newspapers Association, presents Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel, a plaque denoting a lifetime membership in NAM. This is an honor recognizing years of service as leaders of press association. The honor was given during the NAM Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Photo courtesy of Newspaper Association of Managers.

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