THE GUARDIAN is finding freedom of information is not so free in the City of Caldwell. We have filed several public records requests asking to see the due diligence records with the TVCC project and the relationship with Oppenheimer Development.
The city clerk has send us several resolutions passed by the Caldwell City Council but nothing on what we asked to review. Idaho Code 9-338 says all public records are , well public. So far it has been a cat and mouse game with the city clerk, the city finance director and the mayor's office. They keep suggesting we ask for the information in a more specific way. All of this cat and mouse stuff is reminds us of the weave and dodge responses people used to encounter at the Canyon County Courthouse prior to Mr. Bujack taking office as County Prosecutor.
We have asked to review all the letters, emails and documents related to the downtown catalyst project, aka TVCC and the financial arrangements with the City, Caldwell East Urban Renewal Agency and Oppenheimer Development. We have been met with no such records exist other than the four resolutions passed by the City Council per the city clerk. Now we all know a project with $10 million of taxpayer money on the line has a lot of files and paperwork involved. Question is..why won't they give it up? We have asked twice in the last week to review these documents in a room at city hall. We aren't even asking for copies to be made. The good people at city hall have retreated to the "cone of silence".
The city is also denying the recent termination of Assistant Caldwell Fire Chief Douglas Brown when a reporter for the Idaho Press Tribune asked about this. We have not been able to determine what the alledged reasons are for Mr. Brown's termination. THE GUARDIAN learned this weekend Brown has been placed on adminsitrative leave until the termination papers are finalized. The Idaho Press Tribune reporter filed a public records request regarding the departure of Mr. Brown. We can only hope the good people at city hall decide to give the IPT the information the have requested.
The public has a right to know what is going on at Caldwell City Hall and legal requests are getting denied by the city clerk.
No intelligent employer, public or otherwise, would respond to your request (or the IPT's) for personnel files, since they're confidential and exempt from public records law.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Idaho Public Records Law Manual:
"9-340C. Records exempt from disclosure -- Personnel records, personal information, health records, professional discipline. The following records are exempt from disclosure:
(1)
Except as provided in this subsection, all personnel records of a current or former public official other than the public official's public service or employment history, classification, pay grade and step, longevity, gross salary and salary history, status, workplace and employing agency. All other personnel information relating to a public employee or applicant including, but not limited to, information regarding sex, race, marital status, birth date, home address and telephone number, applications, testing and scoring materials, grievances, correspondence and performance evaluations, shall not be disclosed to the public without the employee's or applicant's written consent."
"No intelligent employer, public or otherwise, would respond to your request (or the IPT's) for personnel files, since they're confidential and exempt from public records law."
ReplyDeleteBut a responsible public employer SHOULD provide that information. It's not their money, it's ours.