Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Robertson County Fiscal Court violated the Open Records Act in the disposition of Randy Skaggs' June 12, 2006, request for financial and operational records relating to implementation of KRS 258.195 1 for the period from June 2005 to May 2006. For the reasons that follow, we find that although the fiscal court went beyond its statutory duty in compiling information that was responsive to portions of the request, and creating a new record containing that information, the fiscal court is, nevertheless, statutorily obligated to furnish Mr. Skaggs with existing documentation, and in particular, financial documentation, that supports the information compiled. 2 The fiscal court may require advance payment of a reasonable copying fee, not to exceed ten cents per page, 3 and postage charges for reproduction and mailing of the requested records.
On June 12, Mr. Skaggs requested that the Robertson County Fiscal Court mail him copies of records identified as follows:
1. Records or documentation indicating, referring to, or pertaining to your county's "animal control officer"
2. Records or documentation indicating, referring to, or pertaining to your county's "animal control shelter"
3. Records or documentation indicating, referring to, or pertaining to your county's "application for financial help"
Having received no response to his request, Mr. Skaggs initiated this appeal on September 7, 2006. Given the volume of open records appeals he submitted on September 7, the Attorney General invoked KRS 61.880(2)(b)3. and extended the twenty working day time limit for issuing his decision by an additional thirty working days.
By letter dated September 18, 2006, Robertson County Attorney Jesse P. Melcher advised this office that Robertson County Judge/Executive Bradley Gifford had contacted Mr. Skaggs to inform him that the fiscal court was in the process of compiling documentation. According to Judge Gifford, Mr. Skaggs agreed to an extension of time to compile the documentation, and indicated he would contact this office to withdraw his appeal upon receipt of the requested records. This office received no such communication from Mr. Skaggs.
The Kentucky Open Records Act imposes no obligation on a public agency to create a record that does not already exist in order to satisfy a records request. Instead, the Act contemplates records access by means of on-site inspection or receipt of copies through the mail. KRS 61.872(3) thus provides:
(1) A person may inspect the public records:
In construing the latter provision, this office has observed:
[A] requester who both lives and works in the same county where the public records are located may be required to inspect the records prior to receiving copies. A requester who lives or works in a county other than the county where the public records are located may demand that the agency provide him with copies of records, without inspecting those records, if he precisely describes the records and they are readily available within the agency.
97-ORD-46, p. 3. The Robertson County Fiscal Court does not object that Mr. Skaggs' request was not framed with sufficient precision. Nor could it reasonably do so given the fact that it was able to locate records containing the information sought. While the fiscal court went beyond its duties and obligations in creating a record containing the responsive information, and is to be commended for its attempt to accommodate Mr. Skaggs by locating and producing some responsive records, we hold that the requirements of the statute are not fully discharged until existing documents substantiating that information, such as payroll records, receipts, ledgers, bookkeeping entries, and all other responsive financial records are disclosed. The Open Records Act establishes the right of access to nonexempt public records. Acknowledging that the fiscal court's efforts in this matter were meritorious, we nevertheless conclude that the fiscal court must retrieve the specific financial records from which the information was extracted, calculate its actual costs at a rate of ten cents per page for copies, plus postage, notify Mr. Skaggs of the costs, and mail copies of those records to him upon receipt of this amount.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.
Randy SkaggsP. O. Box 1Webbville, KY 41180
Bradley GiffordRobertson County Judge ExecutiveP.O. Box 76Mt. Olivet, KY 41064
Jesse P. MelcherRobertson County AttorneyP.O. Box 345Mt. Olivet, KY 41064
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 258.195 provides as follows:
(1) The governing body of each county shall employ, appoint, or contract with an animal control officer, or shall contract with an entity that employs, appoints, or contracts with an animal control officer, and shall establish and maintain an animal shelter as a means of facilitating and administering KRS 258.095 to 258.500. One (1) or more counties may enter into intergovernmental agreements for the establishment of regional animal shelters, or may contract with entities authorized to maintain sheltering and animal control services. Animal shelters shall meet the standards provided by KRS 258.119(3)(b) within three (3) years after July 13, 2004. Governing bodies may adopt additional standards and ordinances related to public health, safety, enforcement, and the efficient and appropriate operation of their shelters and their animal control programs.
(2) Cities may employ, appoint, or contract with animal control officers, or may contract with an entity that employs, appoints, or contracts with animal control officers, for the enforcement of this chapter and local animal control ordinances within their corporate limits. Cities may enter into agreements with the counties for the enforcement of the county's animal control ordinances. The agreement shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, setting out the jurisdiction and the duties of the animal control officer respective to the agreement.
(3) Animal control officers shall have the authority to issue uniform citations, local citations, or local notices for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, the provisions of the Kentucky Revised Statutes relating to cruelty, mistreatment, or torture of animals, and animal control ordinances in their respective jurisdictions.