Who decided what is in the final Dane County budget package that is presented and passed WITHOUT DISCUSSION? I’m going to find out, one way or the other. Looks like I’m gonna need lawyers, guns and money. (ok, no guns.) Just brains.
Back in November I wanted to find out how the magical uber amendment that is what is passed as the county board budget was created. I waited 64 days, got denied. Rewrote the request and was denied again.
DENIAL LETTER
February 14, 2020
Brenda Konkel
Via email to: Brendakonkel@gmail.com
RE: Open Records Request
Dear Ms. Konkel:
I am not the custodian of the records you are requesting, but I have been asked to assist in compiling the response to your request. Thank you for explaining that the goal of your request is to obtain certain information. It is well settled that the public records law relates to records, not answering questions about a topic that is of interest to the requester.
I do not understand “Alternative Two – Request #2 – Option A” or “Alternative Two –
Request #2 – Option B” or “Alternative Three.” Therefore, pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(h), which requires requests for records to reasonably describe the requested records, I am denying these requests.
I am interpreting your letter as requesting Dane County Department of Administration,
Division of Information Management to search for all records “regarding the process and content for the substitute resolutions for the Operating and Capital Budgets and final tax levy resolution … and records related to ‘revised,’ excluded or new amendments that were presented to Personnel and Finance at the November 5th Personnel and Finance Committee Meeting.”
As I informed you in the previous letter, I have consulted with our Division of Information
Management within the Department of Administration and learned that Dane County cannot search for emails pertaining to a general topic the way an internet search engine can search for web pages. Therefore, based upon Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(h), I must deny your request. See State ex rel. Gehl v. Connors, 742 N.W.2d 530 (2007) (the purpose of the time and subject matter limitations is to prevent unreasonably burdening a records custodian by requiring the records custodian to spend excessive amounts of time and resources deciphering and responding to a request). As stated in the previous letter, I would also draw your attention to Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(am) which states that “personnel records” that are not indexed, arranged, or automated in a way that the personnel record
can be retrieved by the authority maintaining the record are outside the scope of the open records law. In light of Gehl, it is reasonable to deem other types of records, not just personnel records, that are not indexed, arranged, or automated in a way that the record could be retrieved by the authority are also outside the scope of the open records law. As stated in the previous letter, Dane County has not indexed, arranged or automated all records related to regarding the process and content for the substitute resolutions for the Operating and Capital Budgets, the final tax levy resolution or the “revised” amendments that were presented to Personnel and Finance at the November 5th Personnel and Finance Committee Meeting.
Contrary to the assertion in your letter, this denial is not based upon the lack of magic
words. Rather, it is based upon the failure to reasonably describe the requested records so that Information Management can perform a search for the records you are requesting as required by State statute.
Your letter asserts that a search for your requested records could be done “simply” searching for the records. That would be true only if the records were indexed, arranged or automated in a way that would support such a search. Some Supervisors must have indexed, arranged or automated their records in a way that would make searching for records simple since you have received some records from some Supervisors. However, for those Supervisors who do not index, arrange or automate records, Information Management cannot search for records using a general topic the way that Google searches for websites.
You also provided 194 terms and phrases to be searched for across 37 Supervisors’ emails
between October 1 and November 11, 2019. Such an undertaking cannot be done with one search.
We are still trying to come up with a plan that would not require Information Management staff to spend an excessive amount of time compiling a response to this expansive request.
Pursuant to. § 19.35(4)(b) Wis. Stats, I am required to inform you that if you disagree with
any determinations contained in this letter, you may seek review by mandamus under
§ 19.37(1) Wis. Stats, or by application to the attorney general or a district attorney.
Sincerely,
Dan Lowndes
Risk Manager
& Records Control Officer
THIRD REQUEST
This one will likely get denied because it is overly broad.
Thank you for your response. I guess the simplest way to do this is to request all emails to or from all county board supervisors in office at the time, to or from Supervisor Patrick Miles and former Supervisor Sharon Corrigan between Oct. 1, 2019 and November 6th, 2019. I will search through the records to get the ones that I requested in my first request:
I’M HIRING A LAWYER
Pieces are in place to form a nonprofit, get a fiscal sponsor and raise tax-deductable money to hire a lawyer to assist with this records request. I’m taking donations and if I raise $250 I’m hiring a lawyer, I’m hiring one. If that doesn’t get results, I’m raising $1,500 to sue. If you donate in the next week, you’ll get a tax deductible receipt from my fiscal sponsor and my undying gratitude. Any additional monies raised will go towards the costs of other open records requests, pursuit of open meetings violations and other local government transparency issues. As I said, I’m done with this shit. Our local government officials need to take open meetings and open records issues seriously. And if they can’t do it on their own, someone has to hold them accountable. I’m done with all the “talk” about equity, public engagement, “Engage Dane” and other babble. It’s time for action.
