Imagine asking your local government for information to better understand a decision affecting your community — only to be handed a bill large enough to cover a month’s rent or mortgage payment. That’s precisely what happened when I submitted a public records request to Jefferson County for emails exchanged between county employees and consultants from The Bighorn Company, a firm paid to craft a controversial ballot measure. The response? A jaw-dropping $2,550 price tag, purportedly for 85 hours of research, review and redaction at $30 an hour.

This isn’t just a Jefferson County issue. Across Colorado, government agencies use inflated costs and burdensome estimates to discourage residents from accessing public information. These practices create barriers that shut the public out.

At its core, the issue boils down to a troubling combination of inefficiency, selective opacity and a desire to avoid scrutiny. Governments argue the costs reflect the time and effort required to process records, but let’s be real — 86 hours to sift through emails? Most modern organizations use search tools that filter results in minutes. Why should taxpayers be charged exorbitant fees to access what their taxes already fund?

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

Some agencies exploit these costs as a deterrent. They know average citizens can’t afford thousands of dollars for what should be free or affordable information. By setting financial hurdles, they hope to discourage requests that might expose mismanagement, questionable spending, or backroom dealings. Even if I find contributors to help pay the fees, the government can conceal information by labeling it as “work product” or “privileged.” If that happens, I’d be left with no choice but to take them to court, costing me more out of my own pocket.

In my case, I requested two years’ worth of email correspondence between Jefferson County employees and the three employees comprising The Bighorn Company. This firm was paid with public dollars to create a ballot issue — essentially a taxpayer-funded PR campaign. The county’s response was designed not to comply but to frustrate.

By making transparency a luxury only the wealthy or well-connected can afford, governments avoid answering hard questions and face less accountability. How can the government justify withholding information from the very taxpayers who sit at the top of the organizational chart? When governments stonewall public information requests, it erodes trust. Voters lose faith in institutions meant to serve them, and corruption or inefficiency festers in the shadows.

Here’s what needs to change. First, governments must adopt modern technology to process records more efficiently. There’s no excuse for labor-intensive searches when software and AI can do the job in seconds. Second, fee structures need reform. Public records laws like Colorado’s CORA were intended to make information accessible, not prohibitively expensive.

We must also reexamine what can be concealed. Excuses like concealing “work product” are inexcusable when the boss — taxpayers — is asking what’s going on. Transparency isn’t served by allowing vague justifications to shield public officials from accountability.

Lastly, citizens must demand better. Governments work for us, not the other way around.

Until we dismantle these barriers, transparency will remain a lofty ideal rather than a reality. Jefferson County, and countless others like it, must decide whether they stand for open government or against it.

The public deserves better.

Natalie Menten, of Lakewood, is a former elected board director for the Regional Transportation District; a current board director with the TABOR Foundation and a transparency activist who led efforts to require governments to post their check registers online. Menten is the founder of Colorado Engaged, offering education and training to citizens to get involved.