A brief exchange took place at last night's monthly council meeting between a resident and the city attorney about an open records request that has The Martin Chronicles wondering about the ongoing records problem in Villa Hills. It was obvious during the exchange that the interim city clerk-who is the custodian of the city's records-was very uncomfortable about something. Perhaps it is because she is responsible for filling open records requests.
As this post's title says, Open records are "OPEN" records. It's really that simple. The State of Kentucky enacted legislation in 1992 that is also referred to as "The Sunshine Law". For anyone who is interested, the guidelines for how a government agency must handle open records requests can be found in Chapter 61, Sections 870 through 884 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes.
Public records are any books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, discs, diskettes, recordings, software, or other documentation, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which are prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by a public agency. Public records include anything that relate to functions, activities, programs, or operations funded by a state or local authority.
When you think about it, free and open access to public records bolsters confidence in the operation of any government agency. It allows people to see that their tax dollars are spent wisely and that public employees and elected officials are acting in the taxpayers' best interest. To that end, if a public agency has the requested records in their possession, they should provide them in a timely manner as outlined in the Kentucky statutes.
Back to last night's exchange. The city attorney assured the resident that he would "have a talk with the staff" about proper open records procedures. That's fine. But the open records problems go beyond a "staff" issue.
The Martin Chronicles hopes that the city attorney also has a "heart-to-heart" discussion about open records with Mayor Martin.
More about last night's meeting later.
