People love to turn public-records requests into morality plays. Who’s guilty. Who crossed a line. Who should be embarrassed. That’s not what this is. This PRR exists for one reason only: to test whether the City governs by process, or by vibes. Not people. Not personalities. Process. What We Know (and What We Don’t) From the records already produced, we …
But Complaints Don’t Create Records “They’re all crooked.” That line shows up in Deerfield Beach conversations every election cycle. Then interest fades. No filings. No follow-ups. No paper. Alleged corruption survives outrage because outrage leaves no record. Complaining Is Cheap Accountability Is Procedural Public criticism can sting. Sometimes it carries social cost. But sustained accountability requires something else. Time. Process. …
Most people file public records requests like they’re ordering a pizza. “Any and all emails about X.” “Anything you have on Y.” Congrats. You just handed the agency a stall button. FOI isn’t about learning stuff. FOI is about making an institution account for itself in writing. And that’s where it gets interesting. Process Beats Protest Protest is noise. Process …
