Corpus Christi's name means "the body of Christ" in Latin. Maybe that's fitting, because every time I read about open government issues there, it always makes me say "Good God."

The latest "Good God" comes from the the Caller-Times, who reviewed the fees that 16 Corpus-area government agencies have charged to people who asked for public records.

Their review found that Del Mar College charged nearly $7,000 to a prof who wanted records. He paid it, but the college "eventually returned all" of the money, the story says. Meanwhile, the city of Corpus Christi told a local TV station they'd have to pay $12K for records: "That request was later resolved for $8."

Seeing wildly different numbers between costs estimates and actual, after-the-fact charges raises a red flag to me. At the very least, it suggests these government agencies don't have a good handle on what it takes to compile their information. At worst, it raises the possibility that government agencies are using hugely inflated cost estimates to scare off citizens from requesting records.