from: Megan Gilbert <[email protected]>
to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
cc: Davin Madden <[email protected]>
date: Nov 20, 2024, 3:23 PM
subject: RE: Public records request. (July 2024) Request for Lincoln County, NC Government: Manager, Chair, Vice-Chair emails 05/10/24 – 07/10/24.
Good Afternoon:
In your below correspondence you expressed concern of whether public record requests submitted by your organization would qualify the requests as coming from the “same entity or individual” under the Lincoln County Administrative Fee Schedule because you are state that you are making these requests “on behalf of citizens.” Each email requests that Lincoln County has received from Sunshine Requests specifically states: “by Law I’m not required to provide a name or address to associate with a public records request, but in order to move things along I’d like to clarify that this request is being made by: Sunshine Request, PO Box 17391, Asheville, NC 28816.” Therefore, each requests clearly states that the requests are from the same entity, Sunshine Requests and does not state that you are a third party making a request on behalf of someone else, who must be identified. Otherwise, this would allow for anyone to claim that they are making a request on behalf of others to avoid paying fees that are legally and rightfully due to Lincoln County under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.
In regards to the accusation that the proposed special service charge fees are in violation of the fee schedule, this is simply untrue. While your organization, as a pass-through for requests, may not understand that the documentation being requested is the “same or substantially similar,” those of us in the County know that these requests are related based on other correspondence that has been received from these anonymous individuals. The County takes the stance that while these requests are not the same, they are substantially similar and are therefore subject to an additional service fee. The only requests that could be excluded from the tabulation of charges is the request for HR and Employee Pay Info which equated to $35.00 (x2) because this was a general countywide request. This would decrease the amount owed to $635.00 with a 50% payment due of $317.50.
Lastly, in response to your statement that these charges are in violation of law – this is simply untrue. While you are correct that the law states that you cannot charge for the separation of confidential information, the law further goes on to state that the County may charge for “labor costs of the personnel providing the services” in §132-6.2(b). Moreover, the redaction in the July 11, 2024 request was a simple redaction that took less than a minute, as it was a broad redact, and 99.9% of the time spent was pulling all of the requested documentation. Also, the “Review of All (600+) Emails for Redaction” for the July 17, 2024 request is not a charge for redacting, but is for review of all emails for the Clerk to note and question whether specific emails are releasable. Following that, they would then be transmitted to me or the County Manager for further review and redaction (which was not estimated for charge).
Lincoln County is more than happy to provide public records, but maintains its stance that when the provision of such a record interferes with the County’s ability to conduct its business timely and efficiently then it has the right to charge for the additional labor and use of technology resources, which is clearly allowed by law. The fact that individuals do not want to reveal their identity to request the record, does not preclude them or their requesting entity from being subject to the same laws and rules that are required to be followed by those that are willing to do so.
Megan H. Gilbert
COUNTY ATTORNEY | LINCOLN COUNTY
353 N. Generals Blvd.
P.O. Box 738
Lincolnton, NC 28092
Main: 704-736-8471
Direct: 704-666-6965
Please take note that my email address has recently changed to
[email protected]
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11/20/24. Editor’s Note: Including the request above – currently, we still have 3 “open” requests submitted to Lincoln County, NC:
https://www.sunshinerequest.com/records_request/july-2024-request-for-lincoln-county-nc-government-manager-chair-vice-chair-emails-05-10-24-07-10-24/
https://www.sunshinerequest.com/records_request/july-2024-request-for-lincoln-county-nc-government-related-to-travel-authorization-and-expense-forms-and-attachments-from-07-01-2023-07-01-2024/
https://www.sunshinerequest.com/records_request/july-2024-request-for-lincoln-county-nc-government-finance-department-excel-spreadsheets-tracking-credit-and-procurement-cards-from-08-01-2023-06-01-2024/
Megan’s email to us on November 20 was intended to apply to all 3 of those open requests, as well as any prior requests the County already fulfilled for us since May 2024.
Any updates we receive from the County will be posted on our site. Until this matter is resolved, however, Sunshine Request ([email protected]) will not be sending any more new requests to Lincoln County, NC Government. Please do not attempt to submit any new requests to the County through our website during this time. If you would like to submit a new request for records for the County to fulfill, please reach out to them directly for assistance.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Status:
Response Received from Government