Here's a local story that even the Thanksgiving holiday can't keep down: the City of Portland's decision to include property owners' names and addresses along with maps and aerial photos of their properties on the city's PortlandMaps site. Yesterday we noted that at least one local judge is not happy to have his or her name and home address connected on the internet. Today a couple of readers have written in to note that information that was there earlier in the week has now disappeared.

It turns out that when PortlandMaps started including owners' names, it did so not only for addresses within the Portland city limits, but also for some properties in neighboring communities as well. Now folks in Washington and Clackamas Counties have complained, and Portland has apparently taken all the names down for property within those counties, leaving only Multnomah County property owners' names posted along with their properties. Again, a reader sends along a portion of an e-mail exchange that explains this latest development:

From: "Mills, Michael (Ombudsman)"
To: *****
Subject: RE: Clackamas and Washington Counties : privacy invasion
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:41:18 -0800

Dear ***:

Here is an update on your inquiry. The information for property owners outside of Multnomah County has been removed from Portlandmaps.com. After speaking with officials from both Washington and Clackamas Counties, they expressed to me their desire not to have the names shown on Portlandmaps.com. Since the counties are the respective custodians of these public records, the City has honored their request. Should either of the counties change their policy and allow the names to be displayed, the City of Portland would likely make them accessible. Again, the City allows people to search via property address only and NOT by name. Under ORS 192, all of these are public records but at this time there is no requirement to make them available on the internet.

Thank you, Michael

Michael Mills, Ombudsman
Auditor's Office, City of Portland
1221 SW 4th Ave, Rm 140
Portland, OR 97204-1900
(503) 823-4503
ombudsman@ci.portland.or.us
www.portlandonline.com/auditor/ombudsman


-----Original Message-----
From: Mills, Michael (Ombudsman)
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 8:56 AM
To: *****
Subject: RE: Clackamas and Washington Counties : privacy invasion

p.s. - My apologies. I did make a mistake in my first response. The names are NOT currently available on the websites of the three counties as I wrote. The names have been available only if one subscribes to Multnomah County's online Catbird service. (There are some counties, like Deschutes, that provide the information on their websites, and they even allow one to search by name.) I am sorry about the this error.

Best, Michael

here is an example of an Oregon County where you can search by name, something we decided not to offer here.

DIAL system in Deschutes Co.

[http://tinyurl.com/3bqwaj]

-----Original Message-----
From: Mills, Michael (Ombudsman)
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 8:33 AM
To: *****
Subject: RE: Clackamas and Washington Counties : privacy invasion

Thank you ***.

You raise a good point. There are valid reasons on both sides of this question which makes the decision a particularly difficult one to find the right balance. While I have made my recommendation based on what I thought was in the public's best interest, further review may result in a different conclusion. I will let you know the results.

Thank you again for your thoughtful comments.

Michael

-----Original Message-----
From: *****
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 8:16 AM
To: Mills, Michael (Ombudsman)
Subject: RE: Clackamas and Washington Counties : privacy invasion

thank you for your reply. However, I do not think that this is in the best interests of the general public. My take on it is if you want info on a certain property, go pay for it. This makes it too easy for not so honest folks to access a lot of information without moving off their couch.

"Mills, Michael (Ombudsman)" wrote:

Dear ***,

Thank you for your email. I would first like to provide some background to the issue concerning Portlandmaps.

Under Oregon State law, property ownership is public information (ORS 192). The records of names and addresses are available to those calling into county offices, on their websites and occasionally information is provided by the city. As the information is already publicly available, our office recommended to include names to the City's Bureau of Technology Services. After considerable review, Technology Services accepted the recommendation and made the change. Out of concern for personal safety, the decision was made to allow a search by property address only and NOT by name. This prevents someone from finding where a person lives by knowing their name. It was generally believed that by avoiding the ability to search by name, the privacy and safety concerns would be addressed.

That explanation aside, I have shared your particular concern with the Bureau of Technology Services who are reviewing your concerns and request further. I will let you know the results.

Thank you, Michael

*****

-----Original Message-----
From: *****
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 5:21 AM
To: Ombudsman@ci.portland.or.us
Subject: privacy invasion

hey! get our names off our property. We have our phone number unlisted for obvious reasons and this private info being shared on Portland Maps AND WE LIVE IN LAKE OSWEGO is an invasion of privacy not to mention it leaves all of us open for all sorts of fraud and possible identity theft.

I expect a prompt reply or you will be hearing from our lawyer. This is totally unacceptable.

Well, what about Multnomah County? Does Multnomah County want them there? Perhaps it's time for concerned folks to start calling and e-mailing Ted Wheeler. But hey, please wait 'til Monday.