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Monday, June 28, 2010
City Council to hold special meeting 8 a.m. Wed.
Mayor Tom Bozarth has called a special meeting of the Midway City Council for 8 a.m., Wednesday, June 30, at City Hall to consider insurance proposals, second reading of an ordinance amending the budget for the fiscal year (which ends that day), and a "walking tour contract," an item that was added to the agenda after the first notice went out. All council meetings are open to the public.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Nationally touted Francisco's Farm Arts Festival returns to Midway College campus this weekend
Midway will play host to the seventh annual Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Midway College, produced by Midway Renaissance, June 26 and 27.The festival has been named among the “Top Ten Art Fairs in the U.S.” for the third year in a row by AmericanStyle magazine. This year's edition has several new features; for a full story, click here.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Council committees to meet Tuesday, Wednesday
The Streets and Lights Committee of the Midway City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 15 in the upstairs Community Room of City Hall to discuss sidewalk improvements and additional parking downtown. The Finance and City Property Committee will meet at 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 16 in City Hall to discuss insurance quotes. No action will be taken at either meeting, according to notices from City Clerk Phyllis Hudson.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Council approves budget for 2010-11; city won't appeal attorney general's open-records decision
The Midway City Council adopted the city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 at its regular meeting Monday night. For a copy of the budget, as an Excel spreadsheet file, click here. For a PDF version, click here.
Mayor Tom Bozarth declined to release a copy of his proposed budget while the council was considering it. In a case prompted by the Midway Messenger, Attorney General Jack Conway ruled that a proposed city budget becomes public once the mayor presents it to the council. However, Conway's ruling does not become final until June 19, 30 days after it was issued.
UPDATE, June 10: Bozarth says the city will not appeal the attorney general's decision to Woodford Circuit Court.
Mayor Tom Bozarth declined to release a copy of his proposed budget while the council was considering it. In a case prompted by the Midway Messenger, Attorney General Jack Conway ruled that a proposed city budget becomes public once the mayor presents it to the council. However, Conway's ruling does not become final until June 19, 30 days after it was issued.
UPDATE, June 10: Bozarth says the city will not appeal the attorney general's decision to Woodford Circuit Court.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Attorney general says city budget becomes public when the mayor gives it to the city council
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.
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.
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.
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