Kenny Lane, Rowan County
♦ Mayor Woodson recently promised his increased vigilance and greater accountability of city government. I question how serious he is about this. I have made several requests under the Freedom of Information Act, first on July 11, 2014. As of today I have not received copies of any of the records I requested. I did receive Excel spreadsheet “summaries” from city clerk Myra Heard for the information I requested on July 11, 2014. I have requested actual copies of the information and have yet to receive this.
On August 10, 2014 I requested additional information and received no reply at all. On September 12, 2014 I sent an email to Myra Heard requesting she abide by the law and provide the requested information. I also stated I wanted actual copies of information I had requested on July 11, 2014. I got a reply from Ms Heard on September 15, 2014 which I have attached to this email. Ms Heard stated: “Regarding your request for copies of personnel records rather than a summary spreadsheet of the public information, North Carolina General Statute 160A-168 exempts personnel records from the public records law (GS 132-1) in regards to copies of the documents. The information is public, but the records themselves are not.
I’m a little confused exactly how Ms Heard came to this understanding of NC 160A-168. I have attached a copy of the statute which specifically directs this information be available for the purpose of inspection, examination, and copying. I have attached a copy of 160(A)-168 with the appropriate subsection highlighted directing this. Does Mayor Woodson’s accountable and open government read this statute and believe this means the records are not public? I base this on Ms Heard’s email where she states “The information is public, but the records themselves are not” Exactly what purpose Ms Heard believes the open information laws serve if the public is only entitled to her “summary” I’m can’t imagine. A summary doesn’t reflect the record, it reflects Ms Heard’s interpretation of the record. This is also unacceptable for court purposes which would be my guess as to why Ms Heard is “interpreting” and “summarizing” records rather than providing a copy as directed by statute. Ms Heard advised: “I anticipate completing your public records request by next week and will contact you as soon as the information is available.” I will advise when this occurs and whether Ms Heard elects to follow NC statute or “summarizes” as she apparently believes the public records “themselves are not public” despite the aforementioned general statute. Open and accountable government obeys the law as written; open and accountable government does not take weeks to respond, and not until additional requests have been made, then totally ignore the directives of general statute by stating the “information is public, the records themselves are not”
Email Response from Myra Heard:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElQUtGZFh0bWhMcTg/edit?usp=sharing
Copy of General Statutes 160-186:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElVEQtaVRHMzAxazA/edit?usp=sharing
