In Texas Watchdog's ongoing quest to review and post ethics forms from around the state, we've hit roadblocks from high charges to concealed information.

Officials gave us a variety of responses when we asked to view those personal financial disclosures, which note the business and family relationships of high-profile local and state officials. Every local clerk seems to set different rules.

In the Hill Country, things seemed to ease up. At the Austin city clerk's office, our phone call was quickly returned, and the whole process of getting those forms for the mayor and city council took 15 minutes. The pile cost 10 cents per page -- first 50 pages free -- and there was an ATM just down the hall.

But getting the same forms for the Travis County commissioners and other county officials proved to be much more of an undertaking. We began asking for the records in mid-May, and we've posted them here.

After our verbal request to copy the records, we got a message from Mary Fero at the County Clerk's office, explaining that the financial disclosures were available for viewing only and that no copies could be made or taken.

Perhaps we were not asking for the correct form. We made a visit to the county clerk with a blank form and asked for any written policy regarding public access to these records. We were shown a section of the Texas Local Government Code:

"Financial statements filed under this subchapter are public records. The county clerk shall maintain the statements in separate alphabetical files and in a manner that is accessible to the public during regular office hours."

According to Fero, the public information officer for the county clerk, the law leaves it "up to the county to adopt a policy." If we required something other than access to view the documents during office hours, then we ought to make a public records request in writing, she said.

So we did.

Travis Co. disclosures released three weeks after our first request

When our formal request for the most recent financial statements from 20 elected officials was received, things moved a bit faster. But in the spirit of openness, should the public have to submit a written records request letter for something that's a routine document filed every year?

Michael Winn, an elections office program manager, said he would talk with the county attorney about how to deal with any information kept private by law. Ultimately, home addresses for justices of the peace were redacted on the copies we received, which is permitted by law.

Within a week or so we called the county clerk back. We were asked to fill out a form listing the names of the filers we wanted to see and the date, along with our name, address, and whom we represented --- a requirement written into state law that makes it easy for an official to see who's checking up on them.

We were offered the forms in electronic format or paper copies. Copies would be $1 a page, natch. We opted for e-mail. After some minor wrangling over attachment issues and file extensions, we got 'em --- three weeks after we first asked for them.

Just for fun, we checked with Williamson County in North Austin, to see if officials there would behave like their counterparts in Travis County or Austin. We were told we could just come by the county clerk's office during business hours and view the records or purchase copies. For $1 a page. No information, we were told, would be redacted.

Contact Ann Raber at713-980-9777 or news@texaswatchdog.org.

Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, join our group on MySpace, follow us on Twitter, fan us on Digg, join our network on de.licio.us, and put our RSS feed in your newsreader. We're also on NewsVine, tumblr, Ning, FriendFeed and YouTube.

Photo of paperwork by flickr user kozumel, used via a Creative Commons license.