Barren County Progress publisher prevails in open records dispute
COG2
The Bluegrass Institute’s Center for Open Government was pleased to provide assistance to Barren County Progress publisher, Jeff Jobe, in his recent successful open records appeal. The appeal originated in the Glasgow Electric Plant Board’s partial denial of Jobe’s request for records relating to the $7.4M SET Project sponsored by the TVA and implemented by the board.
Specifically, the board denied Jobe access to records identifying 350 property owners who participated in the project.
The board vigorously resisted disclosure of the records on the theory that its agreement with the TVA required it to maintain the confidentiality of the information. Its efforts to avoid the application of the open records law to these records included a letter to the program participants notifying them of Jobe’s “keen interest” in records implicating their personal privacy.
We assisted Jobe in distinguishing the authorities on which the board relied, in locating pertinent authorities and in responding to the board’s claim that already disclosed records satisfied the public interest in ensuring that it had properly discharged its duties.
Ultimately, we suggested that Jobe remind the board that “the fundamental purpose of the open records act is to enable the public to scrutinize agency claims of compliance through inspection of records that confirm or refute those claims rather than accepting the agency’s claims at face value.”
Our combined efforts yielded the desired result.
On July 13, the attorney general issued 17-ORD-135 in which he rejected the board’s position, adopted the arguments advanced by the Barren County Progress and affirmed the public’s right to know.
The open records law affords the Glasgow Electric Plant Board 30 days to appeal the attorney general’s open records decision to the Barren County Circuit Court. If the board chooses not to pursue this course of action before 30 days has elapsed, 17-ORD-135 will have the force and effect of law and bind the parties.