Most local officials have complied with the state’s open records law while some requests for public records were still denied or ignored, an audit released Wednesday found.

The audit by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, in coordination with the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication, found one out of 10 requests for public records in September and October of this year were either ignored or denied by local authorities.

The study also found that two in 10 requests were fulfilled only after the person requesting the record was asked to explain why they wanted access to the records, which is an illegal practice.

Public records include such documents as minutes of school board meetings, jail booking logs and legal fees paid by town boards. Wisconsin law states requests for public records are to be “filled or denied as soon as practicable without possible delay.”

Bill Lueders, president of WFIC and editor of the Isthmus newspaper, said the responsibility for educating public officials on compliance with Wisconsin open records law rests largely with local authorities.

“The state Department of Justice does a good job of educating records custodians, publishing compliance guides and running educational seminars,” Lueders said. “The associations that represent local government should take the lead in compliance education.”

UW School of Journalism graduate student Jason Shepard, who helped coordinate the audit through a grant from the Freedom of Information Council, said the findings showed room for some improvement though he was pleased with the overall level of compliance.

“On one hand, we were disappointed that we faced problems when looking for basic documents,” Shepard said. “On the other hand, 70 percent of the requests were immediately fulfilled, and nine of 10 were eventually fulfilled.”

Shepard also said local authorities are responsible for educating government workers in terms of compliance law.

“The burden of responsibility lies largely with local government agencies,” he said. “Elected officials at the local level have a responsibility to ensure their employees understand the compliance laws.”

Shepard criticized the high cost of access to public records in some municipalities. According to the audit, some cities charged as much as $5 per page for photocopies. One school district charged $25 per copy of the minutes from a meeting.

Shepard called on the DOJ to address the issue of high costs, believing it could help resolve the obstacles related to obtaining public records.

William Cosh, spokesperson for the DOJ, said Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is concerned and aware of the problem.

“Mr. Van Hollen feels very strongly about open records compliance,” he said.

He said the attorney general’s office has taken steps to maximize compliance law awareness, such as inviting every records custodian in the state to an educational seminar earlier in the year and encouraging school boards to educate their officials about compliance.