Editor’s Note: Sunshine Request makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
Other (indicate in message) Submitted: July 17, 2024 | Updated: November 20, 2024
(July 2024) Request for Lincoln County, NC Government: Manager, Chair, Vice-Chair emails 05/10/24 – 07/10/24.
Good afternoon Megan and Davin, (or Records Officer / Custodian(s) of these records),
Please reply promptly to the following public records request, which I’m making in accordance with NC Public Records Law. https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html
Please provide all emails “sent to” , “sent from” , "cc" , "bcc" , or “sent between”, as individuals or part of a group message – from Davin Madden (County Manager) with Cathy Davis (Chair) or Bud Cesena (Vice-Chairman). During the time period of 05/10/2024 through 07/10/2024. This is not subject matter or keyword specific.
** I’m simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I’m NOT asking for the opportunity to come in person to "inspect", nor to obtain a printed copy of, this electronic record. I’m requesting explicitly that any responsive info be provided to me via the electronic medium / electronic format (in which the copy of this record already exists). If you are unable to fulfill any or all parts of this request, please specifically cite where a reason for denial is justified under NC Public Records Law. **
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Please note that by submitting this request, I’m NOT agreeing to pay any potential fees or associated costs related to my request. If it isn’t possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let me know the itemized potential cost and clear explanations of those charges upfront, and DO NOT proceed until I respond.
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
The request has been sent solely by me and my email address [email protected] . If anyone other than that email address contacts you to pursue a similar request, it did not come from me. Please do not commingle or treat that as an alteration or cancellation of my request – I intend to continue to pursue my request.
Thank you for your assistance!
** Sunshine Request (www.sunshinerequest.com) makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
Status: Response Received from Government
Activity:
-
November 20, 2024 3:23 pm
3 months ago
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
PRIVILEGE and CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission has been sent by an attorney. It may contain information that is confidential, privileged, proprietary, or otherwise requires protection under federal or state law. The information contained in this email message is intended only for the confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this message in error and that you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy, or disseminate this message, any part of it, or any attachments. If you have received this message in error, please delete this message and any attachments/copies from your system without reading the content and notify the sender immediately by email of the inadvertent transmission. There is no intent on the part of the sender to waive any privilege, including the attorney-client privilege that may attach to this communication.
11/20/24. Editor’s Note: Including the request above – currently, we still have 3 “open” requests submitted to Lincoln County, NC:
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 -
November 19, 2024 4:39 pm
3 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Megan Gilbert <[email protected]>
cc: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>
date: Nov 19, 2024, 4:39 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.Hi Megan,
I hope you’ve been well.
I apologize for the long delay in responding. Additionally, due to Hurricane Helene I’ve needed extra time to catch back up on things.
In regard to your last email on July 24 at 11:05am — we’ve discussed your message with our legal team, and have the following to relay:
First, we have a broader concern with whether public record requests submitted by our organization on behalf of citizens would qualify the requests as coming from the “same entity or individual, which shall include individuals within the same household or family unit,” under the policy. As it stands, the proposed bill of special service charge fees appears to violate the county’s Administrative Fee Schedule in grouping public record requests that are not “regarding the same or substantially similar issues” to determine whether a special service charge fee applies.
We also write to pushback on some of the line items in the proposed bill that appear to violate the public records law regarding redaction. N.C.G.S. § 132-6(c) states: “If it is necessary to separate confidential from nonconfidential information in order to permit the inspection, examination, or copying of the public records, the public agency shall bear the cost of such separation” and at least two of the computed charges include the words “redact” or “redaction” in their description.
We hope that we will be able to resolve this matter in a way that we can continue to both serve the people of North Carolina and their right to access public records.
~ The Sunshine Request Team
11/19/24. Editor’s Note: Including the request above – currently, we still have 3 “open” requests submitted to Lincoln County, NC:
Megan’s email to us on July 24 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: Clarification Requested -
July 24, 2024 5:45 pm
7 months ago
07/24/24. Editor’s Note: Including the request above – currently, we have 3 “open” requests submitted to Lincoln County, NC:
Megan intends for her email today to apply to all 3 of those open requests, as well as any prior requests the County has already fulfilled for us since May 2024.
We are a very small team, running this site in addition to our primary business. We will need time to discuss and respond to the message we’ve received from Megan today. Once we’ve determined a course of action or replied to Megan, those updates will be posted on our site. It could take some time.
Until this matter is resolved – 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: Follow up -
July 24, 2024 11:18 am
7 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Megan Gilbert <[email protected]>
cc: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>
date: Jul 24, 2024, 11:18 AM
subject: Re: Public records request. (July 2024) Request for Lincoln County, NC Government: Manager, Chair, Vice-Chair emails 05/10/24 – 07/10/24.Hi Megan,
Thanks for your message.
I am going to need time to discuss with our Team and consider our response.
We’ll get back to you as soon as is possible.
~ The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Response Received from Government -
July 24, 2024 11:05 am
7 months ago
from: Megan Gilbert <[email protected]>
to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
cc: “[email protected]” <[email protected]>
date: Jul 24, 2024, 11:05 AM
subject: RE: Public records request. (July 2024) Request for Lincoln County, NC Government: Manager, Chair, Vice-Chair emails 05/10/24 – 07/10/24.Sunshine Requests:
Given the number of requests that we have received from your site over the past three months, the County has made the decision to enforce its Fee Schedule, which allows for an Additional Service Charge which is permitted by law. The County’s fee schedule allows for retroactive calculation of fees for multiple requests over a three month time period. Attached is the calculation of the Additional Service Charge for all previously provided requests provided since May 2024 and an estimate of the three outstanding requests that have not been fulfilled yet.
The total amount of the fee is $705.50. This fee has been calculated by (actual hours spent × hourly rate of staff) + (estimated hours × hourly rate of staff). This does not include any time spent by myself or the County Manager in additional review prior to release. Pursuant to the County’s fee schedule, we will require payment of 50% of that fee in the amount of $352.75 before processing the remaining 3 requests.
Please confirm how you wish to proceed.
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]
PRIVILEGE and CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission has been sent by an attorney. It may contain information that is confidential, privileged, proprietary, or otherwise requires protection under federal or state law. The information contained in this email message is intended only for the confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this message in error and that you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy, or disseminate this message, any part of it, or any attachments. If you have received this message in error, please delete this message and any attachments/copies from your system without reading the content and notify the sender immediately by email of the inadvertent transmission. There is no intent on the part of the sender to waive any privilege, including the attorney-client privilege that may attach to this communication.
Disclaimer
Pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 132, Public Records, this electronic mail message and any attachments hereto, as well as any electronic mail message(s) sent in response to it, may be considered public record and as such subject to request and review by anyone at any time.
**Editor’s Note: Please see the 2 files referenced (“republicrecordsrequest_july2024requestforlincoln-1-1.zip”) at top left in our Documents section.
Status: Response Received from Government -
July 17, 2024 3:28 pm
8 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Megan Gilbert <[email protected]>
cc: [email protected]
date: Jul 17, 2024, 3:28 PM
subject: Public records request. (July 2024) Request for Lincoln County, NC Government: Manager, Chair, Vice-Chair emails 05/10/24 – 07/10/24.Good afternoon Megan and Davin, (or Records Officer / Custodian(s) of these records),
Please reply promptly to the following public records request, which I’m making in accordance with NC Public Records Law. https://www.ncleg.net/
enactedlegislation/statutes/ html/bychapter/chapter_132. html Please provide all emails “sent to” , “sent from” , “cc” , “bcc” , or “sent between”, as individuals or part of a group message – from Davin Madden (County Manager) with Cathy Davis (Chair) or Bud Cesena (Vice-Chairman). During the time period of 05/10/2024 through 07/10/2024. This is not subject matter or keyword specific.
** I’m simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I’m NOT asking for the opportunity to come in person to “inspect”, nor to obtain a printed copy of, this electronic record. I’m requesting explicitly that any responsive info be provided to me via the electronic medium / electronic format (in which the copy of this record already exists). If you are unable to fulfill any or all parts of this request, please specifically cite where a reason for denial is justified under NC Public Records Law. **
————————————
Please note that by submitting this request, I’m NOT agreeing to pay any potential fees or associated costs related to my request. If it isn’t possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let me know the itemized potential cost and clear explanations of those charges upfront, and DO NOT proceed until I respond.
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 28816The request has been sent solely by me and my email address [email protected] . If anyone other than that email address contacts you to pursue a similar request, it did not come from me. Please do not commingle or treat that as an alteration or cancellation of my request – I intend to continue to pursue my request.
Thank you for your assistance!
** Sunshine Request (www.sunshinerequest.com) makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
Status: Sent to Government -
July 17, 2024 3:25 pm
8 months ago
Submitted to Sunshine Request
Status: Pending