Request By:
Fred E. Fischer, Esq.
City Attorney, City of Jeffersontown
10416 Watterson Trail
Jeffersontown, Kentucky 40299
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Mr. Dennis Coffey has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your handling of his requests to inspect various documents in the custody of the city of Jeffersontown.
In a letter to the mayor of the city of Jeffersontown, dated September 14, 1987, Mr. Coffey made a request under the Open Records Act (KRS 61.870 to KRS 61.884) to inspect and copy eight categories of documents and records belonging to or in the custody of the city of Jeffersontown.
On behalf of the mayor and the city of Jeffersontown, you responded to Mr. Coffey in a letter dated September 21, 1987. You advised him as follows:
I have reviewed your letter of September 14, 1987 and have determined that the only item set forth which would constitute a public record pursuant to the statute would be set forth in Item 6; however, in order to comply with your request I will need to know specifically which ordinances you would like copied.
Accordingly, if you would advise me specifically, which ordinances you wish to review, or copy, I will be more than happy to see that they are made available for you.
Mr. Coffey, in a letter to you dated September 24, 1987, stated that he wished to receive copies of all city ordinances described in his letter dated September 14, 1987 (Item 6) which had asked for "all city ordinances or other documents pertaining to police services provided by the city." He reiterated his request for all the documents and records set forth in his original letter to you.
Mr. Coffey sent you a letter dated October 21, 1987, and another letter dated November 14, 1987. In each letter he reviewed prior correspondence with you concerning his requests to inspect and copy public documents and your lack of a response, other than your letter of September 21, 1987, to his letters.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
The city of Jeffersontown is obviously a public agency as that term is defined in KRS 61.870(1) of the Open Records Act. KRS 61.880 sets forth most of the duties and obligations of a public agency in connection with requests it receives to inspect and copy documents. KRS 61.880(1) provides as follows:
Each public agency, upon any request for records made under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, shall determine within three (3) days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the request, within the three (3) day period, of its decision. An agency response denying, in whole or in part, inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exception authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exception applies to the record withheld. The response shall be issued by the official custodian or under his authority, and it shall constitute final agency action.
The public agency is mandatorily required to notify the requesting party of its decision in writing within three days after the receipt of the letter requesting to inspect and copy records. The written notice should advise the requesting party that the records in question will be made available for inspection or it should set forth specific reasons, citing the particular exception to public inspection upon which it is relying, why the records are exempt from public inspection. Failure to comply with these statutorily imposed requirements constitutes a violation of the Open Records Act. See OAG 87-60 and OAG 86-86, copies of which are enclosed.
It appears that your letter of September 21, 1987, did not advise the requesting party of the city's decision within the statutorily imposed time span. Furthermore, your letter of September 21, 1987, was deficient in that it did not set forth specific reasons why inspection was being denied and it did not cite the specific exceptions to public inspection upon which the city relied. Although the requesting party responded to a question you propounded in your letter, you never responded to that letter or to the requesting party's two subsequent letters pertaining to his requests to inspect and copy public records.
It is, therefore, the opinion of the Attorney General that you and the city of Jeffersontown have violated KRS 61.880(1) of the Open Records Act by your insufficient response to the requesting party's original letter and by your failure to respond at all to his three subsequent letters. You and the city should immediately advise the requesting party in writing whether he may inspect the records in question and if you deny the request you must set forth the statutorily authorized exceptions to public inspection upon which you are relying.
As required by statute, a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requesting party, Mr. Dennis Coffey. If you or the city disagree with this opinion or decide not to comply with the findings and conclusions expressed herein, you may initiate further proceedings in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).