No Date of Commitment to Respond included in Letter
The City of Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development responded to the Freedom of Information Act request filed by the City County Observer on behalf of Evansville City Councilman John Friend in a matter of hours. The response letter does not commit to a specific date by which the requested information will be made available was not a part of the letter. The requirement for compliance with the FOIA laws is 20 business days which will be Thursday August 11th. The full text of the letter is as follows:
July 14, 2011
Joe Wallace, Editor
City County Observer
218 Rosemarie Court
Evansville IN 47715
Re: Public Records Request
Dear Mr. Wallace:
The Department of Metropolitan Development received your written request on 7/14/2011 requesting access to and copies of any contracts, agreements, and correspondence between Old National Bank and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission/City of Evansville Pertaining to the insurance advice, policies, or discussion for the new Evansville Arena.
This response to your written request is made pursuant to Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act, I.C.5-14-3 et seq. The Department may have records that are responsive to your request and is in the process of retrieving and reviewing the necessary files. A response will be provided to advise you of the Department’s findings. Pursuant to I.C.5-14-3-8, a fee for copying any records in response to your request may be charged by the Department and payment of such costs must be made prior to releasing copies of public records.
Sincerely,
Shannon Begeman
Keeper of the Records
If you are scratching your head and wondering if anyone other than the Mayor knows what is going on or has gone on in city government, this excerpt from the local online government telephone directory goes a long way towards explaining that.
Vacant, STAFF ACCOUNTANT Controller’s Office
(812) 435-4915
Vacant, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE BOOKKEEPER Controller’s Office (812) 436-4918
Vacant, BOOKKEEPER Controller’s Office
(812) 436-4923
How could this city ever answer any FOIA requests for financial information or produce the statutorily required CAFR in a timely manner when the required staff is absent?
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Councilman Friend certainly deserves the information he has requested, and it is telling that he can only obtain it by having a friendly newspaper write out a Freedom of Information Act request ? Step back and ponder that a moment ! Withholding information to current members of City Council is outrageous. What in the world is in that ONB Insurance Report that is so private ? I guess we may find out soon, but I am confused as to why such a study was ever commissioned ? Is there a chance that the report never existed, and will have to be prepared now ? Did ONB not only receive the $ 100,000 for the study, but also the commissions for placing the insurance ? If ONB didn’t place the policies, who is the broker of record ? Inquiring minds want to know, and it is a real mystery to me why we have all the drama ? This is a real low point for the JW administration.
Mr Friend, with these actions, is beginning to sway me. He seems honest and has a firm handshake. I will consider renewing his term, when the time comes.
Good luck, Mr Friend. …
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