City Administrator Once Again Refuses to Turn Over Records to a Council Member
CITY ADMINISTRATOR Steve Powers answers directly to City Council. The city’s Charter requires the 11-member group to annually review the City Administrator’s performance. Council sets his pay and has the ultimate authority to fire him. Despite the fact that Council functions as his direct supervisor, Powers is once again refusing to turn over copies of records to an Ann Arbor City Council member.
Jack Eaton represents Ward 4 and in April he asked to be given copies of public records requested by The Ann Arbor Independent. Council member Eaton was told that the public records, including employee emails and personnel records, would not be turned over to him. Instead, Eaton was informed that he would be allowed to view the public records in the presence of a city staffer.
The refusal to provide public records when requested to do so is potentially a violation of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act statute, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s office.
Those who request public records may request them provided in a variety of formats, including digitally. Those who use FOIA to request public records may ask to review records, such as personnel files, in order to either narrow a search or to exclude information which is not needed. However, the state’s FOIA statute does not give public bodies whose records are subject to FOIA the prerogative to demand that public records—which would otherwise be released—be examined in the presence of, for instance, a FOIA officer.
Emails shared with The Ann Arbor Independent showed in his reply to her, Powers offered Kailasapathy annual reports and 990 income tax returns, among other materials. However, the City Administrator said he would not share SPARK’s annual audit statements.
In an interview with The Indy, Kailasapathy did not mince words: “It’s outrageous. Those people come to City Council for money, and yet they want to keep their financial documents a secret from the public. No, no, no.”
Ann Arbor SPARK eventually relented and released its audit statements.
While Powers and other officials are not attempting to keep secret the documents requested by The Ann Arbor Independent and Council member Eaton, they are attempting to keep from providing copies to Council member Eaton.
Council member Eaton beat 14-year incumbent Marcia Higgins in the August 2012 Democratic primary election. While campaigning, Eaton spoke repeatedly about the importance of reforming the city’s FOIA policy so that public records were easier to request and obtain.
After city’s officials attempted to levy a more than $700 FOIA fee on The Ann Arbor Independent for electronic copies of two personnel files, a copy of a four question test, the test key, and copies of email messages sent by one city employee during a six month period, Eaton requested the same materials.
The aforementioned public records requested by The Indy in April 2014 relate to the alleged retaliatory dismissal of a city staffer shortly after his partner declared his intention to run for City Council. The paper appealed the $700 fee, and City Administrator Steve Powers reduced it to under $200. However, in its appeal The Indy argued that news gathering organizations, including print newspapers and magazines, customarily pay only copying charges for public records as the information is used to educate the public on the function of local government.
Council member Eaton then asked why Ann Arbor is assefees on local news gathering organizations. In his email response to Eaton, the City Administrator alleged that fees must be assessed because newspapers “profit” from the public records.
Council member Eaton, in an email, said that response was “unacceptable.” He then requested the records himself.
Over the course of the past several weeks city officials, including the City Administrator, have refused to provide the Council member with his own copies of the public records.
According to the City Clerk, between January 2013 and May 2014, The Ann Arbor News was assessed $300.52 in FOIA fees for emails sent by former Fire Chief Chuck Hubbard in the month of December 2013. In February of 2013, the newspaper was assessed $702 in FOIA fees for records documenting mileage reimbursements which had been paid to city employees during the previous year.
In August 2013, the online AnnArborChronicle.com was assessed a FOIA fee of $93.94 for copies of correspondence sent by the City Attorney on the subject of city staff speaking at public meetings. The fee was assessed after an appeal for the release of the records was approved by City Administrator. Steve Powers.
