Public Records Controversy – Day 128

Central Public Records Lawsuit Mirrors White Castle and Lafayette

    Central citizen and Central Speaks columnist Dave Freneaux filed a motion last Wednesday to compel City of Central officials to produce documentation of records that have been withheld from public records requests possibly dating as far back as July of 2015.  The city claims that certain documents can be withheld from viewing by the public, but have been unwilling to identify the date or nature of the documents. 
    The courts have recently taken a hard line with nearby cities, requiring compliance with Louisiana’s public records laws.  Lafayette’s City Marshal was sentenced last week to a seven days in jail and ordered to pay almost $100,000 in fines, fees, and penalties in a public records lawsuit.  The Marshal withheld public records from the requestor, a local newspaper, for 173 days.  Four days earlier a judge ordered White Castle’s mayor to turn over public records that had been withheld from citizens for over six months.  The judge has set a separate court date to consider fines and penalties.
    In the January hearing of Central’s four-month-old public records lawsuit, Judge Don Johnson listened as Central’s City Attorney, Jennifer Sims, argued, “The Mayor and the City of Central [have] . . . entered into a contract with IBTS to serve as the custodian of the city’s records. . . . He does not have custody, he does not have control over those documents your honor.  He simply serves as the Mayor of the City of Central.”
    At the initial December hearing in the lawsuit, Judge Johnson asked Attorney Sims, “What case law supports your position that I should declare the Mayor is not the proper party to this suit because he’s delegated factually his authority to an independent or some non-public entity?”  Sims responded, “Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any case law.”
    While Mayor Shelton’s attorney argues that IBTS is the custodian of public records, in two emails last November the Mayor offered a different defense in stating, “I am not (nor have I ever been) in the custody or control of the records . . . any non-exempt records that may be responsive to your requests are within the custody and control of the City Clerk.”
    However, Central’s City Clerk works from his law office outside of Central and does not have immediate access to 99% of Central’s public records, and has no direct authority over the Mayor’s office or the city’s contractor, IBTS.  Regardless of who is ultimately responsible Central’s public records, the courts are taking very seriously the public's right to view the actions of their government.
    Judge Don Johnson is expected to rule soon on the Motion to Compel the city to produce a listing of the documents which have been withheld from public records requests.