Documents to effectively cover a public entity

Posted: May 13, 2003

Compiled by Brant Houston, executive director, Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., and associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

FINANCE

Annual report

Budgets for the last three years

Audits

Vendors

Purchasing and bid rules

Previous year's request for proposals

PERSONNEL

Employees: Name, title, department, salary, date of hire, date of birth

Lists of all boards and committees with names and members

ELECTIONS AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Campaign finance reports for all elected officials

Financial disclosure reports

Results of voting records, broken down as much as possible

LAND AND TAXES

Tax delinquents: top 100

Big taxpayers: 10 to 100

The master plan

Capital improvement plans

COURTS AND CRIME

Lawsuits

Crime stats

Lawyers

GENERAL INFORMATION

Census data

Internal phone directory

State FOI and Sunshine Laws

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