public records request

10 Dec, 2015

New Memphis mayor to change city’s public records process, move it out of legal

By |2019-09-11T18:55:58-05:00December 10, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

New Memphis mayor Jim Strickland plans to implement at least one of the recommendations from a report earlier this year that suggested an overhaul of how the city handles public records request. In "Strickland says changes will improve communication," Commercial Appeal politics and policy reporter Ryan Poe writes: Among his first acts as Memphis mayor, Jim Strickland plans to shake up the city's public records process, which a report issued in May said was "inefficient" and at times had perhaps inadvertently violated the law. Doug McGowen (from left), Bruce McMullen, Ursula Madden, Jim Strickland, Brian Collins, Toney Armstrong As he announced several executive-level appointments Monday, Strickland he would make [...]

13 Nov, 2015

Judge rules Sumner County Schools violated public records law, orders it to stop

By |2015-11-16T07:35:58-06:00November 13, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

GALLATIN -- Nearly 20 months after citizen Ken Jakes requested to see the Sumner County Schools public records policy, Sumner County Judge Dee Gay ruled today that the school district violated Tennessee Public Records law by withholding it. He ordered the district to stop its practices and adopt a new policy for dealing with public records requests. Seated left to right: Citizen Ken Jakes, Sumner Schools attorney Jim Fuqua, school communications official Jeremy Johnson and attorney Todd Presnell listen to the judge's ruling that the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act. The school's attorney asked for a 30-day stay on the judge's order, which Gay granted, [...]

31 Jul, 2015

Judge says Sumner County Schools denied public records request, but not willful

By |2018-11-16T15:14:58-06:00July 31, 2015|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Sumner County Judge Dee David Gay said Thursday in preliminary findings that Sumner County Schools denied a public records request from open government advocate Ken Jakes, but that he heard no proof that showed the district was willful in its actions. Gay said he would make a final ruling in November on whether the school district violated the Tennessee Public Records Act when it denied Jakes' request on the basis that he did not follow the local district's requirement that he make the request in person or through the U.S. Postal Service. Jakes had emailed his request, following up with a voice mail, asking in March 2014 to inspect the [...]

29 Jul, 2015

Public records practices of Sumner County Schools under scrutiny at trial

By |2015-07-30T05:27:34-05:00July 29, 2015|Categories: requests|Tags: , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

Ken Jakes, an open government advocate and a candidate for an at-large council position on Nashville’s Metro Council, is expected to testify Thursday morning in a public records lawsuit he brought against Sumner County Schools. Jakes sued after making a request in March 2014 to inspect the school district’s public records policy. District officials say his request, though they received it, was not valid because he sent it by email. Jakes also followed up with a phone call and left a voice mail. At issue is whether Sumner County Schools officials can refuse to respond to a public records request if it is received by email. The district’s policy at [...]

5 May, 2015

Memphis report charts new approach to handling public records requests

By |2015-06-19T16:53:45-05:00May 5, 2015|Categories: Public Records, requests|Tags: , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

A top-to-bottom review presented to the mayor of Memphis last week charts a new approach to handling public records requests in Tennessee and takes direct aim at improving the underlying culture of openness. Among the 23 recommendations, it suggests a “fresh start” by re-assigning current public records custodians “to prevent adoption of incorrect methods or bad habits that have formed as part of the culture of the division or the department in which they work.” It talks about a “customer-friendly attitude,” suggests appointing a public records ombudsman to resolve disputes, and recommends a training program that would include a mix of city officials, media representatives and citizens “so each can gain [...]

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