Other (indicate in message) Submitted: May 12, 2023 | Updated: September 19, 2023

(May 2023) Request for Guilford County, NC Government: Current employees and salaries as of 05/12/23 [or present day]

Hello Guilford County, NC Government (Records Officer),

I'd 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

** I’m simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I’m 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 do not have any additional or further clarifying info I wish to provide to narrow this request. If it is unclear or 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 provide a list of ALL current Guilford County, NC Employees and their Salaries, as of 05/12/2023 or present day (date the query is performed). Please include the following:

1) Employee first / last name
2) Current Position / Title / Department
3) Date of Hire
4) Current salary (including hourly wage, hourly rate, or salary -- whichever is applicable to the employee)

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.
——————

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.

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 or my Team. 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!

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.

Status: Government Denied Request

Activity:

  • September 19, 2023 3:07 pm

    7 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    cc: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    date: Sep 19, 2023, 3:07 PM
    subject: Re: Following up on Public Records Request # 23-349

     

    Hi Patrick and Ariane (or County Records Officer / Custodian of Records), all others CCed,

     

    Under NC Public Records Law, the County is required to “promptly” process all public records requests. I’m concerned that you may be intentionally delaying or ignoring the fulfillment of requests by allowing them to “sit” until staff has availability, or feels like addressing my messages / emails. With this in mind, I want to highlight the court case referenced in item #6 of the following article, posted on the NC Press Association website. In this instance: “The trial court held that an unjustified one-month delay in production of records was tantamount to a denial”. http://www.ncpress.com/stories/a-bakers-dozen-for-2022nc-public-records-law,2390

     

    My request was first submitted to you via Next Request on May 12, 2023. I didn’t receive any response, and the data was not provided to me, until August 09 (nearly 3 months after submitting the request). Despite this, the file I received shows data that is only up-to-date as of May 18. Therefore, since August I’ve asked repeatedly that you please update that spreadsheet to comply with my original request… giving me the most up-to-date information through the present day (the date the query is actually performed).

     

    I have not received any reply to any of my follow up messages or emails:

     

    August 10, 2023, 3:59pm by the requester
    August 10, 2023, 4:02pm by the requester
    August 23, 2023, 2:57pm by the requester
    Direct Email (above) sent on September 8, 12:59pm

     

    However, I do see that on Sep 8, 2023 @ 3:11 PM you have reopened request # 23-349 on Next Request. Can you please explain whether or not you intend to respond to or fulfill my request? This data is simple to provide, and most entities in North Carolina fulfill a request like this in 1 week or 1 day.

     

    Having made all reasonable attempts to follow up with you, and having received no response — I’m going to now mark this request as having been “Denied” by your organization. I would highly recommend that the County revisits their current public records request fulfillment process to ensure that you’re in compliance with the Law, and that you fulfill and respond to all requests in a timely manner.

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Government Denied Request
  • September 8, 2023 3:11 pm

    7 months ago

    from: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    reply-to: [email protected]
    to: [email protected]
    date: Sep 8, 2023, 3:11 PM
    subject: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been reopened.

     

    Guilford County Public Records

     

    Record request #23-349 has been reopened. You can see it anytime at the link below.

     

    View Request 23-349

    https://guilfordcountync.nextrequest.com/requests/23-349


    Status: Follow up
  • September 8, 2023 12:59 pm

    7 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    cc: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    date: Sep 8, 2023, 12:59 PM
    subject: Following up on Public Records Request # 23-349

     

    Good afternoon Patrick and Ariane (or Records Officer / Custodian of Records), all others CCed,

     

    This is my final attempt to follow up with Ariane Webb (or whomever is responsible for the fulfillment of requests via your Next Request page) regarding my request:

     

    https://guilfordcountync.nextrequest.com/requests/23-349

     

    Sent August 10, 2023, 3:59pm by the requester.
    Sent August 10, 2023, 4:02pm by the requester.
    Sent August 23, 2023, 2:57pm by the requester.

     

    I have not received any response to those messages. Therefore, I must email you directly in order to get a reply. I will reiterate the message below:
    ————–

     

    1. My request was first submitted to your office on May 12, 2023. It called for:

     

    … a list of ALL current Guilford County, NC Employees and their Salaries, as of 05/12/2023 or present day (date the query is performed).

     

    I did not receive confirmation of my request, or any response to my follow up messages about the request, until August 09.

     

    At that time, the document I received shows data that is only up-to-date as of May 18. This data was not provided to me until almost 3 months after I submitted the request.

     

    I’m asking once again that you please update that spreadsheet to comply with my original request — ensuring that the most up-to-date information has been provided to me through August 09 (the date the query was actually performed) or today’s date.

     

    2. I can see that on the “Public View” of this request on your website, it appears the “upload date” for the responsive document you sent me says “Uploaded: 05/19/2023”.

     

    That date cannot be correct. The document was not sent to me until August 09, and there had been no updates shown at all within my NR account since first submitting the request on May 12.

     

    Please correct that Upload Date information in the “Public View” so that the date is shown to be August 09, 2023. For the sake of transparency, it’s in the public interest to do so, and it ensures that accurate information is provided in accordance with NC Records Law.

     

    If I do not hear back in 1 week, at that point I will mark this request as having been “Denied” again by your organization.

     

    Thank you for your help.

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • August 23, 2023 2:57 pm

    7 months ago

    from: [email protected]
    to: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    date: Aug 23, 2023, 2:57 PM

     

    Hi Ariane (or Guilford County Records Officer),

     

    I’m following up on my previous two messages:

     

    August 10, 2023, 3:59pm by the requester
    August 10, 2023, 4:02pm by the requester

     

    I have not received a reply. I will reiterate below:

     

    1. My request was first submitted to your office on May 12, 2023. It called for:

     

    … a list of ALL current Guilford County, NC Employees and their Salaries, as of 05/12/2023 or present day (date the query is performed).

     

    The file you sent shows me that the responsive data is only up-to-date as of May 18. This data was not provided to me until almost 3 months after I submitted the request. Can you please update the spreadsheet to comply with my original request? Ensuring that the most up-to-date information has been provided through August 09 or today’s date (the date the query was actually performed)?

     

    2. I can see that on the “Public View” of this request on our site, it appears the “upload date” for the responsive document you sent me says “Uploaded: 05/19/2023”.

     

    That date cannot be correct — since, as you know, that document was not sent to me until August 09 (and there had been no updates shown at all within my account since the request was submitted on May 12).

     

    Can you please correct that Upload Date information in the “Public View”, so that the date is shown to be August 09, 2023? For the sake of transparency, it is in the public interest to do so, and ensures that accurate information is provided.

     

    Thank you.


    Status: Follow up
  • August 10, 2023 3:59 pm

    8 months ago

    from: [email protected]
    to: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    date: Aug 10, 2023, 4:02 PM

     

    ** TYPO:

     

    The responsive information was not provided to me until nearly 3 months later on August 09. The file you’ve posted, shows that the responsive data you’ve provided, is only up-to-date as of May 18.

     

    August 10, 2023, 4:02 pm by the requester


     

    from: [email protected]
    to: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    date: Aug 10, 2023, 3:59 PM

     

    Hi Ariane (or Guilford County Records Officer),

     

    Thank you for responding to the request.

     

    I’d like to ask that you please re-open the request, and that you clarify the following:

     

    1. I can see that on the “public view” of this request it appears the “upload date” for the responsive document is “Uploaded: 05/19/2023”.

     

    That date cannot be correct — since, as you know, the request was just completed yesterday (and there was no update shown at all within my account since the request was submitted on May 12).

     

    Can you please correct that Upload Date information in the “public view”, so that the date is shown to be August 09, 2023? For the sake of transparency, it is in the public interest to do so, and ensures that accurate information is provided.

     

    2. The request was first submitted on May 12, 2023. It called for:

     

    Please provide a list of ALL current Guilford County, NC Employees and their Salaries, as of 05/12/2023 or present day (date the query is performed).

     

    The responsive information was not provided to me until nearly 3 months later on August 09. The file you’ve posted, shows that the responsive data you’ve provided, is only up-to-date as of May 12.

     

    Can you please update spreadsheet to comply with the original request? Ensuring that the most up-to-date information is being providing through August 09 (the date the query was actually performed)?

     

    Thank you!

     

    August 10, 2023, 3:59pm by the requester


    Status: Clarification Requested
  • August 9, 2023 8:54 am

    8 months ago

    from: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    date: Aug 9, 2023, 8:54 AM
    subject: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been published.

     

    Guilford County Public Records

     

    Record request #23-349 has been published and is now available for public view.

     

    View Request 23-349

    https://guilfordcountync.nextrequest.com/requests/23-349

     

     

    Editor’s Note to Sender: We are actively working to follow up with the County and ask them to update the information provided — and send us the responsive records through today’s date (the present day). This is what was requested back in May.


    Status: Response Received from Government
  • August 9, 2023 8:54 am

    8 months ago

    from: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    date: Aug 9, 2023, 8:54 AM
    subject: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been closed.

     

    Guilford County Public Records

     

    Record request #23-349 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:

     

    Good morning,

     

    Please be advised that all responsive records have been released, and your request has been fulfilled.

     

    Thank you for your records request submission.

     


    Status: Response Received from Government
  • August 9, 2023 8:53 am

    8 months ago

    from: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    date: Aug 9, 2023, 8:53 AM
    subject: [Document Released] Guilford County public records request #23-349

     

    Guilford County Public Records

     

    A document has been released for record request #23-349 along with the following message:

     

    Good morning,

     

    We have released the public records responsive to your request. You will be able to view or download the records by logging into the NextRequest system using your email address and the password you established.

     

    Thank you!

     

    PIR 23-349 FINAL for sunshinerequest as of 05.18.2023.xlsx

     

    Document links are valid for one month. After September 9, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).

     

    **Editor’s Note: Please see the 1 file referenced (“PIR-23-349-FINAL-for-sunshinerequest-as-of-05.18.2023.xlsx”) at top left in our Documents section.


    Status: Response Received from Government
  • August 8, 2023 5:22 pm

    8 months ago

    from: Michael Halford <[email protected]>
    to: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    date: Aug 8, 2023, 5:22 PM
    subject: Automatic reply: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been opened.

     

    Thank you for your email.

     

    I am out of the office and will return on Friday, August 11, 2023. I will respond to your e-mail as soon as possible after I return to the office. If you need immediate assistance, please call 336-641-3383 or visit https://www.guilfordcountync.gov/our-county/administration/county-manager for contact information for one of our Assistant County Managers.

     

    Have a great day!

     

    Michael


    Status: Government Denied Request
  • August 8, 2023 5:20 pm

    8 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    cc: [email protected], [email protected]
    date: Aug 8, 2023, 5:20 PM
    subject: Re: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been opened.

     

    Good Afternoon Guilford, NC Records (Pat and Michael CCed),

     

    This is my 4th and final attempt to follow up regarding my public records request # 23-349. It was first submitted to the County via NextRequest on May 12, 2023, 1:45pm EST.

     

    REF: (May 2023) Request for Guilford County, NC Government: Current employees and salaries as of 05/12/23 [or present day]

     

    Within NextRequest I still see that the status is “Unpublished”. I have not received any further response since initially submitting the request, nor have I received a reply to my follow up emails within NextRequest (on May 23, 2023, 12:58pm, and June 02, 2023, 11:02 AM), or any of my other emails in the thread above.

     

    Under NC Public Records Law, the County is required to “promptly” process all public records requests. I am concerned that you may be intentionally delaying fulfillment of requests by allowing them to “sit” until staff has availability, or feels like addressing. With this in mind, I want to highlight the court case referenced in item #6 of the following article, posted on the NC Press Association website. In this instance: “The trial court held that an unjustified one-month delay in production of records was tantamount to a denial”. http://www.ncpress.com/stories/a-bakers-dozen-for-2022nc-public-records-law,2390

     

    Government employee salary data is considered a matter of public record as part of the public personnel file of employees. This was a very simple request for salary data, and should have been easy to provide promptly.

     

    Having made all reasonable efforts to follow up, and having received no response — I am now marking this request as being “Denied” by your organization.

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Government Denied Request
  • July 12, 2023 12:03 pm

    9 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    cc: [email protected]
    date: Jul 12, 2023, 12:03 PM
    subject: Re: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been opened.

     

    Hi Guilford, NC Records (Pat also CCed),

     

    Please reply promptly.

     

    This is my third attempt to follow regarding my public records request # 23-349. It was first submitted to your office via Next Request on May 12, 2023, 1:45pm EST.

     

    (May 2023) Request for Guilford County, NC Government: Current employees and salaries as of 05/12/23 [or present day]

     

    I have not received any response since sending in the request, nor to my follow up emails within NextRequest on May 23, 2023, 12:58pm, and on June 02, 2023, 11:02 AM.

     

    This is a very simple request for salary data, and should be easy to provide promptly. Can you please provide an anticipated date for the completion of this request?

     

    Within Next Request I can still see that the status is “Unpublished”.

     

    I will make one more attempt to follow up again in 1 week, if I do not hear anything else before then.

     

    Thank you!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • June 2, 2023 11:02 am

    10 months ago

    from: Sunshine Request <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    date: Jun 2, 2023, 11:02 AM
    subject: Re: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been opened.

     

    Hi Guilford County, NC (Records Officer),

     

    This is my second attempt to follow regarding my public records request #23-349. It was first submitted to your offices on May 12, 2023, 1:45pm EST via Next Request.

     

    I haven’t heard back since sending in the request, or to my follow up email within NextRequest on May 23, 2023, 12:58pm EST.

     

    This is a simple request for salary data and should be easy to provide promptly. Can you please provide an anticipated date for the of this request?

     

    I will follow up again in 1 week, if I have not heard anything else before then.

     

    Thank you for your help!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • May 23, 2023 12:58 pm

    10 months ago

    **Editor’s Note 05/23/23: The following message was submitted to Guilford County, NC Government at 12:58pm EST via our login on the County’s public records portal, NextRequest. We will post any updates we receive, on our website. Thank you for using Sunshine Request!

     

    Hi Guilford County, NC Government (or Records Officer),

     

    I’m following up on my public records request in the email thread below. First sent to your offices on May 12, 2023, 1:45pm EST.

     

    Can you please provide a timeline for the completion of this request? I will follow up again in 1 week, if I have not heard anything else before then.

     

    Thank you for your help!

     

    ~ The Sunshine Request Team


    Status: Follow up
  • May 12, 2023 1:45 pm

    11 months ago

    from: Guilford County Public Records <[email protected]>
    to: [email protected]
    date: May 12, 2023, 1:45 PM
    subject: Your Guilford County public records request #23-349 has been opened.

     

    Guilford County Public Records

     

    Your record request #23-349 has been submitted successfully.

     

    Thank you for contacting Guilford County. We have received your request and are working to determine if there are any responsive documents.

     

    Please note: no fees have been calculated at this time. We will notify you via this portal if there are any costs associated with your request.

     

    View Request 23-349

    https://guilfordcountync.nextrequest.com/requests/23-349

     

    As the requester, you can always see the status of your request by signing into the Guilford County portal.

     

    If you haven’t already signed in, you may need to activate or setup your account to get started. Once your account is activated, you can communicate directly with the Guilford County through NextRequest.


    Status: Government Processing Request
  • May 12, 2023 1:45 pm

    11 months ago

    **Editor’s Note 05/12/23: The following request was submitted to Guilford County, NC Government at 1:45pm EST via our login on the County’s public records portal, NextRequest. We will post any updates we receive, on our website. Thank you for using Sunshine Request!

     

    Hello Guilford County, NC Government (Records Officer),

     

    I’d like to make a public records request for information that may be available in your office.

     

    If you’re not the appropriate party to contact about the request, please provide the correct name and email address of whom I should send it to. Please confirm receipt to let me know the request will begin processing, and if possible, please provide a rough estimate of when the request may be completed. I will plan on following up again around the end of the month if I have not heard back before then.

     

    Here are the details of the request:

     

    SUBJECT: 

    (May 2023) Request for Guilford County, NC Government: Current employees and salaries as of 05/12/23 [or present day]

     

    MESSAGE:

    Hello Guilford County, NC Government (Records Officer),

     

    I’d 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

     

    ** I’m simply requesting an electronic copy of an electronic record, if one exists. I’m 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 do not have any additional or further clarifying info I wish to provide to narrow this request. If it is unclear or 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 provide a list of ALL current Guilford County, NC Employees and their Salaries, as of 05/12/2023 or present day (date the query is performed). Please include the following:

     

    1) Employee first / last name

    2) Current Position / Title / Department

    3) Date of Hire

    4) Current salary (including hourly wage, hourly rate, or salary — whichever is applicable to the employee)

     

    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.

    ——————

     

    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.

     

    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 or my Team. 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: Sent to Government
  • May 12, 2023 1:47 pm

    11 months ago

    Submitted to Sunshine Request
    Status: Pending