Filling open records requests is not optional. Kentucky State statutes are very clear on the legal requirement for government agencies to provide requested information in their possession in a timely manner. There is a growing concern that the City of Villa Hills is not following the Open Records statutes.
As previously reported, the chairman of Villa Hills' Code Enforcement Board has been requesting information he needs in order for his board to operate effectively. He has e-mailed numerous inquiries to Mayor Mike Martin, the interim city clerk and the city attorney. Council members have been copied on these e-mails and are well aware of the Code Enforcement Board's concern and frustration.
The chairman just received a letter from the interim city clerk advising him that the city does not have the information he requested. Let's set aside the PROBLEM the absence of those records would present regarding State and Federal requirements for records retention for the moment. Let's also disregard the organizational PROBLEMS betrayed by the absence of those records.
Instead, let's play a little game of "WHAT IF".
What if those records are in the possession of the City of Villa Hills? Several sources tell The Martin Chronicles that they absolutely are.
What if the interim city clerk knows the records are there? What if the city attorney knows the records are there? And, of course, what if Mayor Martin knows the records are there? What possible reason could any of them have for refusing to provide records they know they have?
What if special counsel Phil Taliaferro asks the interim city clerk about this turn of events under oath? What will she say if irrefutable evidence is provided to her that not only did the city have the requested records in their possession at the time of the request-but that she knew it and sent the letter to the code enforcement board chairman anyway?
What if the city attorney is placed in the same box? How will he justify the billable hours he charged the taxpayers of Villa Hills to supposedly attempt to track down the requested information?
What if Mayor Martin is faced with the same irrefutable evidence that it was known that the requested records were in the city's possession? Will he fall back on his tried and true, "I didn't know that then, but I know that now" excuse? And exactly how long will it take Martin to throw the interim city clerk under the spinning wheels of the bus? She was the one who signed and sent the letter after all.
"The Wheels of the Bus" is a child's song. But willful refusal to fill records requests is not a child's game. It is a very serious matter. Those serious matters certainly seem to be piling up.
