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: March 6, 2023 | Updated: May 8, 2023
(March 2023) Request for Montgomery Community College, in Troy NC: Current “Full Time” employees and salaries. As of 03/06/23, or present day.
Hello Montgomery Community College in Troy, NC (Records Officer),
I’m using your form at https://www.montgomery.edu/mcc-public-records-request/ to submit my public records request. However, I want to note that the form requires senders to provide:
Name (Required)
Date (Required)
Title (Required)
Organization (Required)
Address (Required)
Email (Required)
Phone (Required)
Request Description (Required)
I acknowledge that a fee may be required for the requested information, in accordance with MCC Board Policy 2.3.8.1 (Required)
** By Law senders are NOT required to provide a name, address, or other personally identifying information in order to make a public records request. However, I'll just clarify (as I will again in my request below) that this request is being made by:
Sunshine Request
PO Box 17391
Asheville, NC 28816
Email: [email protected]
In the spirit of transparency, I would encourage your organization to revisit that form and your current public records request fulfillment process, to ensure that you're in compliance with NC Public Records Law.
** Please note that by submitting this request, I am NOT agreeing to pay any potential fees or associated costs related to my request. If it is not possible to process the request without incurring fees, then please let me know the itemized potential cost and explanations for those charges upfront, and DO NOT proceed until I can respond.
** I am simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I am NOT asking 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 an electronic medium / format (in which the copy of this record should already exist). I know that it should be possible to fulfill a records request like this one, as many other community colleges in North Carolina have already done so. 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.**
—--------
I'd now like to make a public records request for the following information under NC Public Records Law.
Ref: https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bychapter/chapter_132.html
Subject:
(March 2023) Request for Montgomery Community College, in Troy NC: Current “Full Time” employees and salaries. As of 03/06/23, or present day.
Message:
Please provide a report or list of annual salaries for all current “Full-Time” employees of Montgomery Community College, as of 03/06/2023 (or on the date the query is performed). Please include the following:
A) Employee Name
B) Current Job Title / Department
C) Current Annual Salary
Ideally, I’d like to receive the responsive records in an Excel format, if possible. If any / all of this info is already publicly available online, please provide a link to where it can be accessed.
By Law I am 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 from the 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!
Status: Completed
Activity:
-
May 8, 2023 2:47 pm
4 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
date: May 8, 2023, 2:47 PM
subject: Re: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestHi Amy,
Apologies for the delay.
I’m still not sure that’s a clear enough / satisfactory explanation about fees…
However, I did review your email and salary report PDF you sent back on 04/03, and I will go ahead and mark this request as “Completed” on our site.
I will encourage anyone wishing to pursue a similar request to reach out to your office directly, and they can provide any clarification about the exact records they’d like to receive.
Thank you for your help!
~ The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Completed -
April 3, 2023 2:27 pm
5 months ago
from: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
date: Apr 3, 2023, 2:27 PM
subject: Re: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestThe fee was based on 2 hours of my salary to complete the report. I am a one-person Human Resources department, and thus my hourly salary rate was used to calculate the fee X 2 hours.
Amy Goodwin
Director of Human Resources
Montgomery Community College
1011 Page Street
Troy, NC 27371
Phone: 910-898-9634
Email: [email protected]
E-Fax: 910-898-9640
Status: Clarification Provided -
April 3, 2023 2:22 pm
5 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
cc: [email protected]
date: Apr 3, 2023, 2:22 PM
subject: Re: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestHi Amy,
Thank you for sharing that file, and thanks for “waiving” a fee. I will further review your email, and get back to you as soon as I’m able to complete the request.
However, I would still like to ask that you please provide the additional clarification I’ve been asking for regarding fees. I’ve been asking for this info since your first email, and have not received a response. It is very likely that our Team will continue to receive or send future requests to your office — so I’d really like to better understand your organization’s procedures / policies for how you determine when fees may be applied.
To reiterate my messages:
——-This note is on MCC’s Public Records Request Form:
“There is no charge for examining a public record, but there is a copy charge of $0.10 per page for any copies the College makes for the person/organization requesting the record. In addition, if the information request is for something other than a readily available document, the College will charge for the time it takes a staff person to collect or prepare the information. This charge is based on the full labor cost of the person preparing the record. The College will provide an estimate of the costs for an extraordinary request prior to making the records available for inspection or release and allow the requestor the option of either agreeing to pay the charge or revising the request to narrow its nature or scope.”
https://www.montgomery.edu/mcc-public-records-request/At the time of my first message you had only indicated that “… Our staff assessed the cost and it will be $59.56 to produce the report you requested.”
Can you please clarify exactly how much staff time you had originally estimated to “produce the report”, and what $ rate you used to make that calculation?Now that the request has been completed, you’ve said that approximately 2 hours were spent on the request. I’ll assume that means the “full labor cost of the person preparing the record” was $29.78 per hour?
I’d also like to understand how you determine that a standard request for salaries is considered to be “extraordinary”? It’s been my experience that it’s standard practice with many entities in NC that only when an “extensive use of information technology resources or the labor costs of the personnel providing the services” might require 4 or more hours, that the request is considered “extraordinary” (or subject to a special service charge per hour for each hour in excess of 4 hours).
Thank you for your help.
~ The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Clarification Requested -
April 3, 2023 1:54 pm
5 months ago
from: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
date: Apr 3, 2023, 1:54 PM
subject: Re: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestGood afternoon,
We are attaching the information that you requested. Please understand that this is not a standard report and required about 2 hours of manual work to produce, which is how we calculated the fee. We have provided the report at no charge this one time, however future requests may have the fee imposed since it is not a standard report and has to be produced manually.
Sincerely,
Amy Goodwin**Editor’s Note: Please see the referenced file (“Public-Records-1.pdf”) at top left in our Documents section.
Status: Response Received from Government -
March 24, 2023 2:37 pm
6 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
date: Mar 24, 2023, 2:37 PM
subject: Re: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestHi Amy,
I’m following up on my response to you back on Mon, Mar 13, 4:51 PM. I have not received a reply.
I’ve reiterated that message here:
———I would like to ask first for some additional clarification.
The type of salary info I’ve requested (Employee name, Title, Salary) is widely regarded and consistently produced as a public record as part of the public personnel file of community college employees. Many community colleges around the state frequently fulfill a request like mine via email in 1 week, or in many cases 1 day.
Per this note on MCC’s Public Records Request Form:
“There is no charge for examining a public record, but there is a copy charge of $0.10 per page for any copies the College makes for the person/organization requesting the record. In addition, if the information request is for something other than a readily available document, the College will charge for the time it takes a staff person to collect or prepare the information. This charge is based on the full labor cost of the person preparing the record. The College will provide an estimate of the costs for an extraordinary request prior to making the records available for inspection or release and allow the requestor the option of either agreeing to pay the charge or revising the request to narrow its nature or scope.”
https://www.montgomery.edu/mcc-public-records-request/You have indicated that “… Our staff assessed the cost and it will be $59.56 to produce the report you requested.” Can you please clarify exactly how much staff time you’ve estimated to produce this information, and at what $ rate you’re using to make that calculation? I’d also like to understand how you determine that a simple request for salaries is considered to be “extraordinary”? We find that typically, only requests that require 4 or more hours to prepare, constitute an “extensive use of personnel” or are subject to a special service charge per hour for each hour in excess of 4 hours.
———I will follow up again in another week, if I have not heard anything else before then.
Thank you for your help!
~ The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Clarification Requested -
March 13, 2023 4:51 pm
6 months ago
from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
to: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
date: Mar 13, 2023, 4:51 PM
subject: Re: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestHi Amy,
Thank you for your reply!
I do want to ask first for some additional clarification.
The type of salary info I’ve requested (Employee name, Title, Salary) is widely regarded and consistently produced as a public record as part of the public personnel file of community college employees. Many community colleges around the state have fulfilled a request like mine via email in 1 week, or in many cases 1 day.
Per this note on MCC’s Public Records Request Form:
“There is no charge for examining a public record, but there is a copy charge of $0.10 per page for any copies the College makes for the person/organization requesting the record. In addition, if the information request is for something other than a readily available document, the College will charge for the time it takes a staff person to collect or prepare the information. This charge is based on the full labor cost of the person preparing the record. The College will provide an estimate of the costs for an extraordinary request prior to making the records available for inspection or release and allow the requestor the option of either agreeing to pay the charge or revising the request to narrow its nature or scope.”
https://www.montgomery.edu/mcc-public-records-request/You have indicated that “… Our staff assessed the cost and it will be $59.56 to produce the report you requested.” Can you please clarify exactly how much staff time you’ve estimated to produce this information, and at what $ rate you’re using to make that calculation? I’d also like to understand how you determine that a simple request for salaries is considered to be “extraordinary”? We find that typically, only requests that require 4 or more hours to prepare, constitute an “extensive use of personnel” or are subject to a special service charge per hour for each hour in excess of 4 hours.
Thank you for your help!
~ The Sunshine Request Team
Status: Clarification Requested -
March 13, 2023 4:22 pm
6 months ago
from: Amy Goodwin <[email protected]>
to: [email protected]
date: Mar 13, 2023, 4:22 PM
subject: Sunshine Request – Public Records RequestDear Sunshine Request,
I am following up on your records request for salary information about Montgomery Community College. Our staff assessed the cost and it will be $59.56 to produce the report you requested. If you are agreeable to moving forward, just let me know and we will proceed to collect the data. Once we receive payment we will process the requested information. Please make payment to Montgomery Community College and send it to the attention of Accounts Receivable at the address below.
Montgomery Community College
Attention: Accounts Receivable
1011 Page Street
Troy, NC 27371Sincerely,
Amy Goodwin
Director of Human Resources
Montgomery Community College
1011 Page Street
Troy, NC 27371
Phone: 910-898-9634
Email: [email protected]
E-Fax: 910-898-9640“E-mail correspondence to and from this address may be subject to the North Carolina Public Records Law and shall be disclosed to third parties when required by the statutes. (NCGS.Ch.132)”
Status: Clarification Requested -
March 7, 2023 3:14 pm
6 months ago
**03/07/23 Editor’s Note: We submitted the request to Montgomery Community College’s public records request form at 12:30pm EST on 03/06/2023.
You can see a screenshot of the response message we received from their website, above in our “Documents” section (File Name:“Form submission message, 03/06/23, 1230EST”). As of 1:35pm EST there is no additional update to report.
We will follow up again in another week or so, if we haven’t received a response.
Thank you for using Sunshine Request!
Status: Sent to Government -
March 6, 2023 12:29 pm
6 months ago
Submitted to Sunshine Request
Status: Pending