Request By:
William O. Smith
Judge-Executive Jackson County
Courthouse
McKee, Kentucky 40447
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Carl T. Miller, Jr., Assistant Attorney General
Mr. John Butwell has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 concerning his request to you to see a draft copy of the Jackson County budget for fiscal year beginning July 1, 1983. You responded to Mr. Butwell's request by letter dated April 13, 1983 and sent a copy to the Attorney General. In your letter you stated as follows:
"This letter is to inform that as of this date I am unable to comply with your request since the draft copy has not been accomplished.
However, on April 26 at 7:00 p.m. we have our public hearing scheduled. Sometime after those hearings, possibly at the following fiscal court meeting we will have a draft copy prepared. You are most welcome to obtain said draft copy once it exists."
Mr. Butwell's letter to the Attorney General was dated April 23, 1983 and we hope that since that date the Open Records problem has been resolved. However, Mr. Butwell has expressly asked that we rule on his request for the "draft copy that was circulated on April 12, and not merely whatever revised draft copy is available by the time you make your ruling -- although I will want access to the newer drafts, too, of course."
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that the draft copy of the budget allegedly circulated on April 12, if it exists, is exempt from mandatory public inspection by KRS 61.878(1)(g)(h) which exempts preliminary drafts, notes, preliminary recommendations, and preliminary memoranda in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended. To be more explicit, preliminary drafts of a budget are not required to be available for public inspection. They are of the nature of intraoffice memoranda, preliminary, tentative and merely expressions of recommendations which may or may not be incorporated into the final document.
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that you have acted in accordance with the Open Records Law, KRS 61.870 to 61.884, in your response to Mr. Yates.
As directed by statute a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requester who has the right to challenge it in court under KRS 61.880(5) .