Judge Tells City to Release Records

    When Judge Don Johnson heard arguments Monday on the release of Public Records held by the City of Central, newspaper columnist and Central citizen Dave Freneaux had been waiting thirty-six days for Public Records Requests that the City of Central was required by law to respond to in only three days.  The City had also admitted that it failed to notify Freneaux, as required by law, that documents were withheld from other Public Records Requests leading up to an October court challenge of a major zoning case in Central.
    After hearing explanations from both sides, Judge Johnson instructed Central to turn over all documents responsive to the Public Records Requests.  The judge then set a court date of January 11th to ensure that the requests were completed in compliance with Louisiana’s Public Records Law.
    Counsel for Mayor Shelton asked the court to remove the Mayor from the suit, claiming that he was not responsible since the Mayor’s office authorized IBTS, Central’s city services contractor, to respond to records requests.  Judge Johnson was quick to say that it would be difficult for him to see how the Mayor of a city could delegate away his responsibility to abide by Louisiana’s Public Records Law.
    Counsel for both IBTS and Mayor Shelton maintained in court that IBTS is the designated party for handling Public Records Requests.  IBTS provides the vast majority of Central’s city services under a five-year contract for approximately $3.5 million annually.  In October, Mayor Shelton obtained City Council approval to extend the city’s contract with IBTS for two years with an annual increase of approximately $100,000 per year.
    The attorney for IBTS stated that four of the six records requests that have gone unanswered for over a month would be produced this week, and that the other two would be made available soon.