Ruling in a case originated by the Midway Messenger, the state attorney general's office has ruled that a proposed city budget becomes public once a mayor submits it to the city's legislative body. But unless the City of Midway forgoes an appeal and releases its proposed budget for the year beginning July 1, the decision will not affect that document.
The Messenger first requested the proposed 2010-11 budget after Mayor Tom Bozarth gave it to at least some City Council members, those on the Finance Committee, which discussed the budget peripherally at a meeting in April. Bozarth declined to release the document at that meeting, saying the state Open Records Act exempted proposed budgets from disclosure.
Kentucky Citizens for Open Government, through Kentucky Press Association Executive Director David Thompson, appealed to the attorney general, adopting the Messenger's argument that a document should become public once discussed at a public meeting of a public agency. Attorney General Jack Conway did not accept that argument, but did rule that once a mayor proposes a budget to a council, it becomes public.
"The proposed budget must be made accessible to the public when it is submitted to the City Council pursuant to KRS 91A.030(7) because it constitutes statutorily required final action of a public agency, in this case, the Mayor of the City of Midway," the decision said. "At this juncture, the budget forfeits the preliminary character it enjoyed while it was in preparation and is no longer a draft," one exemption in the law. For a copy of the decision in PDF format, click here.
The decision overruled decisions made under then-Attorney General Ben Chandler in 1996 and 2000. However, it may not have immediate effect, because it does not gain the force of law until the 30-day appeal period has run. Bozarth told the Messenger today that he and City Attorney Phil Moloney "will discuss what we are going to do over the next few days." The council is scheduled to adopt the budget on second at its next regular meeting on June 7. The appeal period ends June 19.
Header
Monday, May 24, 2010
Streets committee meets Tues. to talk sidewalks
The Streets and Lights Committee of the Midway City Council will hold a meeting tomorrow, May 25, at 4:30 pm upstairs in the Community Room of City Hall, to discuss sidewalk issues.
Sidewalks are an issue in discussions on the city budget, which the full council is scheduled to adopt on second reading at its next regular meeting on May 7.
Sidewalks are an issue in discussions on the city budget, which the full council is scheduled to adopt on second reading at its next regular meeting on May 7.
Monday, May 10, 2010
'Revenue streams' on agenda as budget looms; city defends refusal to provide copy of proposal
The Midway City Council will be dealing with money matters in the coming week. Tomorrow at noon, the Finance and City Property Committee will meet at City Hall "to discuss Revenue Streams, and review any updates on City Property," the city's official notice says.
Next Monday at 5:30 p.m., the full council is scheduled to give first reading to the ordinance that will establish the city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget was discussed at a meeting last month, and the formal first reading was to have been held at the regular meeting on May 3, but that meeting was canceled because a quorum was not expected.
City officials have declined to release a copy of the proposed budget to the Midway Messenger, and the Kentucky Press Association has appealed the denial to the state attorney general's office, whose decisions have the force of law in open-records and open meetings matters. The argument of KPA and the Messenger is that once a quorum of a public agency discusses a basic policy document such as a budget in a public meeting, the document should be considered a public record, just as proposed state and federal budgets are.
In its response to the appeal, the city cited previous attorney general's decisions holding that a proposed budget is a preliminary document until it is adopted, and thus exempt from disclosure. "If a proposed preliminary draft budget loses its exempt status ... between the time of its initial creation and the version that receives final approval upon passage by a governmental body, then the aforementioned statute becomes unclear and blurred and subject to a host of interpretations other than its plain meaning and will require deciding what exceptions will be made to the exemption," wrote the city's attorney, Phil Moloney of Lexington. "Surely this was not the legislative intent of the statute when the exemption was created."
The first point of Moloney's letter noted that KPA did not request a copy of the budget. The open-records law does not require appeals to be filed by someone who has been denied a record. To read the full, three-page letter in a scanned PDF, click here.
Next Monday at 5:30 p.m., the full council is scheduled to give first reading to the ordinance that will establish the city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget was discussed at a meeting last month, and the formal first reading was to have been held at the regular meeting on May 3, but that meeting was canceled because a quorum was not expected.
City officials have declined to release a copy of the proposed budget to the Midway Messenger, and the Kentucky Press Association has appealed the denial to the state attorney general's office, whose decisions have the force of law in open-records and open meetings matters. The argument of KPA and the Messenger is that once a quorum of a public agency discusses a basic policy document such as a budget in a public meeting, the document should be considered a public record, just as proposed state and federal budgets are.
In its response to the appeal, the city cited previous attorney general's decisions holding that a proposed budget is a preliminary document until it is adopted, and thus exempt from disclosure. "If a proposed preliminary draft budget loses its exempt status ... between the time of its initial creation and the version that receives final approval upon passage by a governmental body, then the aforementioned statute becomes unclear and blurred and subject to a host of interpretations other than its plain meaning and will require deciding what exceptions will be made to the exemption," wrote the city's attorney, Phil Moloney of Lexington. "Surely this was not the legislative intent of the statute when the exemption was created."
The first point of Moloney's letter noted that KPA did not request a copy of the budget. The open-records law does not require appeals to be filed by someone who has been denied a record. To read the full, three-page letter in a scanned PDF, click here.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Council to discuss budget Mon.; denial of request for proposal is appealed to attorney general
The Midway City Council has scheduled a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 26 at City Hall to discuss the proposed city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The budget discussion was scheduled for the regular meeting this past Monday, but was delayed because Mayor Tom Bozarth was out of town due to the death of his brother-in-law in St. Louis.
Bozarth has given the budget proposal to council members, but has declined to make it public, saying it will not be released until the council adopts it. The Midway Messenger made a written request for a copy of the proposal during the finance committee meeting last week. Bozarth orally denied the request and Council Member Sharon Turner, the committee chair, backed him up. In a written response dated Friday, April 16, Bozarth said the proposed budget is "purely preliminary" and will be released when all council has "taken action that finalizes the budget."
This week the Kentucky Press Association appealed the denial to the attorney general's office, decisions of which have the power of law in open-records and open-meetings matters. The appeal arguues that the exceptions in the Open Records Act for “preliminary drafts” and “preliminary recommendations” are very limited. “Recommendations are by nature preliminary, so the adjective in the latter phrase compounds its limiting nature,” the appeal says. “Likewise, the former phrase does not simply say ‘draft’ or ‘preliminary document,’ but uses two limiting words together. A proposed budget is a document that by nature usually goes through a lengthy process of drafting, consideration and adoption. A proposed budget being circulated among employees of a public agency might be considered a ‘preliminary draft,’ but our position is that it ceases to fit that phrase once it is distributed to and discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting. After all, a budget is the basic policy document for a government, and KRS 61.871 says, ‘The General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 [the Open Records Act] is that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.878 or otherwise provided by law shall be strictly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others.’”
Bozarth attached to his written response the first page of an attorney general's opinion that denied a newspaper access to a proposed city budget, but the appeal argues that the opinion does not apply “because that case did not deal with discussions by members of a public agency at a public meeting. Other parts of the law support disclosure of documents being discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting.” For a PDF of the appeal, click here.
Bozarth has given the budget proposal to council members, but has declined to make it public, saying it will not be released until the council adopts it. The Midway Messenger made a written request for a copy of the proposal during the finance committee meeting last week. Bozarth orally denied the request and Council Member Sharon Turner, the committee chair, backed him up. In a written response dated Friday, April 16, Bozarth said the proposed budget is "purely preliminary" and will be released when all council has "taken action that finalizes the budget."
This week the Kentucky Press Association appealed the denial to the attorney general's office, decisions of which have the power of law in open-records and open-meetings matters. The appeal arguues that the exceptions in the Open Records Act for “preliminary drafts” and “preliminary recommendations” are very limited. “Recommendations are by nature preliminary, so the adjective in the latter phrase compounds its limiting nature,” the appeal says. “Likewise, the former phrase does not simply say ‘draft’ or ‘preliminary document,’ but uses two limiting words together. A proposed budget is a document that by nature usually goes through a lengthy process of drafting, consideration and adoption. A proposed budget being circulated among employees of a public agency might be considered a ‘preliminary draft,’ but our position is that it ceases to fit that phrase once it is distributed to and discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting. After all, a budget is the basic policy document for a government, and KRS 61.871 says, ‘The General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 [the Open Records Act] is that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.878 or otherwise provided by law shall be strictly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others.’”
Bozarth attached to his written response the first page of an attorney general's opinion that denied a newspaper access to a proposed city budget, but the appeal argues that the opinion does not apply “because that case did not deal with discussions by members of a public agency at a public meeting. Other parts of the law support disclosure of documents being discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting.” For a PDF of the appeal, click here.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Corman signs Lexington lease for dinner train
A dinner train is likely to run to or through Midway, now that RJ Corman Railroad Group has signed a lease with the Lexington Center Corp. for a track and platform that would serve the train and its customers, Beverly Fortune reported in the Lexington-Herald Leader.
The train "might very well be available for the holiday season," Corman Chairman Fred Mudge told the newspaper. Work cannot begin until completion of the Newtown Pike extension, scheduled for September. Corman operates a dinner train out of Bardstown. (Read more)
The train "might very well be available for the holiday season," Corman Chairman Fred Mudge told the newspaper. Work cannot begin until completion of the Newtown Pike extension, scheduled for September. Corman operates a dinner train out of Bardstown. (Read more)
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Reclassification bill dies with legislative session
The bill that would have Midway a fourth-class city, with more power to regulate sales of alcoholic beverages and collect license fees from those sales, died today as the state Senate abruptly adjourned.
House Bill 325 would have also moved up the fifth-class cities of Guthrie in Todd County and Junction City in Boyle County. Opposition arose to the Junction City provision, so interested legislators agreed to take the bill to a conference committee and remove it, Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, said tonight. However, the Senate adjourned at about 3:30 p.m. after the Republicans who run that chamber decided not to pass the House's proposed continuation budget for the executive branch of state government.
House Bill 325 would have also moved up the fifth-class cities of Guthrie in Todd County and Junction City in Boyle County. Opposition arose to the Junction City provision, so interested legislators agreed to take the bill to a conference committee and remove it, Rep. Carl Rollins, D-Midway, said tonight. However, the Senate adjourned at about 3:30 p.m. after the Republicans who run that chamber decided not to pass the House's proposed continuation budget for the executive branch of state government.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Committee keeping proposed city budget to itself
By Heather Rous
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications
At the Midway Finance and City Property Committee meeting on Tuesday, called in part to review the proposed 2010-11 city budget, the proposal was distributed to members but Mayor Tom Bozarth declined to give it to the Midway Messenger.
The meeting was called to discuss revenue streams, reviewing the budget draft, and reviewing any updates on city properties, according to the meeting notice and agenda. However, Bozarth informed the committee that discussion of the budget would be delayed until the meeting of the full city council on Monday, April 19.
“We’ll go over it with everyone on Monday at the meeting and spend some time with it and then come back and go over it again at our first meeting in May,” said Bozarth. “That’s my thought. If you have any questions let me know and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability.”
Bozath is not a member of the committee, but committee chair Sharon Turner agreed with the approach.
A copy of the current budget was distributed, and when Al Cross, publisher of the Midway Messenger, asked Bozarth for a copy of the proposed budget, Bozarth declined.
“It’s a proposed budget, Al,” said Bozarth. “So we’ll give you a copy when it’s been approved by council.” He said the council would discuss the budget at its next two meetings, but noted that the budget does not have to be approved until June.
Cross and this reporter then submitted a formal, written request for a copy of the proposed budget. Cross told Bozarth and the committee that the situation represents a gap between the state open-meetings and open-records laws. The request for the budget argues that documents discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting should be made available for immediate inspection.
“Based on how the laws are written, it’s open for interpretation,” Cross told the officials. “It’s never even been decided by the attorney general.”
The law states that “preliminary drafts” and “preliminary recommendations” are subject to inspection only on court order. Those are very limited phrases, Cross said after the meeting. “Recommendations are by nature preliminary, so the adjective in the latter phrase compounds its limiting nature,” he said, adding:
“A proposed budget being circulated among employees might be considered a ‘preliminary draft,’ but our position is that it ceases to fit that phrase once it is distributed to and discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting.”
In 2000, the attorney general’s office ruled that a newspaper reporter was not entitled to a copy of a proposed county budget that had been distributed to the Fiscal Court, but not discussed at a court meeting. The draft budget was voluntarily released to the reporter.
Turner said that it was her understanding that she and the other committee member present, Charlann Wombles, were following state law. She said the committee’s understanding has always been that proposed documents, until they’re approved at council, are not subject to open-records laws.
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications
At the Midway Finance and City Property Committee meeting on Tuesday, called in part to review the proposed 2010-11 city budget, the proposal was distributed to members but Mayor Tom Bozarth declined to give it to the Midway Messenger.
The meeting was called to discuss revenue streams, reviewing the budget draft, and reviewing any updates on city properties, according to the meeting notice and agenda. However, Bozarth informed the committee that discussion of the budget would be delayed until the meeting of the full city council on Monday, April 19.
“We’ll go over it with everyone on Monday at the meeting and spend some time with it and then come back and go over it again at our first meeting in May,” said Bozarth. “That’s my thought. If you have any questions let me know and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability.”
Bozath is not a member of the committee, but committee chair Sharon Turner agreed with the approach.
A copy of the current budget was distributed, and when Al Cross, publisher of the Midway Messenger, asked Bozarth for a copy of the proposed budget, Bozarth declined.
“It’s a proposed budget, Al,” said Bozarth. “So we’ll give you a copy when it’s been approved by council.” He said the council would discuss the budget at its next two meetings, but noted that the budget does not have to be approved until June.
Cross and this reporter then submitted a formal, written request for a copy of the proposed budget. Cross told Bozarth and the committee that the situation represents a gap between the state open-meetings and open-records laws. The request for the budget argues that documents discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting should be made available for immediate inspection.
“Based on how the laws are written, it’s open for interpretation,” Cross told the officials. “It’s never even been decided by the attorney general.”
The law states that “preliminary drafts” and “preliminary recommendations” are subject to inspection only on court order. Those are very limited phrases, Cross said after the meeting. “Recommendations are by nature preliminary, so the adjective in the latter phrase compounds its limiting nature,” he said, adding:
“A proposed budget being circulated among employees might be considered a ‘preliminary draft,’ but our position is that it ceases to fit that phrase once it is distributed to and discussed by members of a public agency at a public meeting.”
In 2000, the attorney general’s office ruled that a newspaper reporter was not entitled to a copy of a proposed county budget that had been distributed to the Fiscal Court, but not discussed at a court meeting. The draft budget was voluntarily released to the reporter.
Turner said that it was her understanding that she and the other committee member present, Charlann Wombles, were following state law. She said the committee’s understanding has always been that proposed documents, until they’re approved at council, are not subject to open-records laws.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)