· The BOC placed on the consent agenda for first reading of an ordinance addressing how Lakeland will comply with requirements of the state’s Open Records law. The ordinance will match the practice already proscribed by BOC resolution. City Attorney Chris Patterson said the measure is cautionary based on issues that have arisen in other Tennessee cities. He said the ordinance is necessary to protect the City against frivolous records requests that can be a time drain on City staff members. The City must acknowledge public records requests within seven days and must make requested records available within 30 days, but can charge a fee for copying and staff research.
It seems that the objective would be to emphasize how residents may review "their" records rather than put up "protections" about "frivolous record requests". (Who decides what is "frivolous"?)
There are very strict Tennessee Laws that protects residents rights to government Open Records. Hopefully the new Ordinance will expedite this rather than emphasize "protection" against so called "frivolous record requests".
A good link to the Open Meeting Act is here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment