The Hamilton County Attorney's Office has doubled-down on its decision to charge more than $700 for the inspection of records last week, despite opinions from multiple experts who say the charges violate state law.
Two records requests filed with the office by the Times Free Press in the last month have been initially denied or had illegal fees imposed. In response to the most recent request for inspection, the county ordered the newspaper to pay $717 for the compilation and printing of electronic records, despite previously provided electronic records for inspection without fees.
In recent weeks, three experts on public records said the charges violate Tennessee Code Annotated 10-7-503(a)(7)(A), which states charges cannot be imposed for requesters seeking to inspect records without requesting copies.
Since the request was received, county attorney Rheubin Taylor and county general government public records coordinator Dana Beltramo have maintained they are allowed to charge, not for the inspection, but for preparation of records to be inspected.
"As the majority of the records you've requested are maintained in electronic format, and as stated in my original response, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503 (a)(1)(A)(ii), devices used to store public records are not open to the public, the only means by which this office is able to comply with your request is to print hard copies of the materials you've requested," Beltramo wrote in an email to the Times Free Press on Tuesday. "Your original request was dated 8/5/2019. The response was sent to you on 8/7/2019, and included an estimate of total cost to produce the records you've requested, including the time anticipated to produce the records. Thus, Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(2)(B) has been satisfied. The County Policy at § IV(l)(7) requires that estimates be paid in full prior to fulfillment of the request. Therefore, upon receipt of your payment, I will undertake to produce the records you've requested."
The code cited by Beltramo provides that open records law "does not include the device or equipment that may have been used to create or store a public record ," but does not mention the imposition of charges.
Last week, Tennessee Open Records Counsel Lee Pope, Tennessee Coalition of Open Government Executive Director Deborah Fisher and TCOG board member Rick Hollow all said that the denial was unlawful.
Beltramo added that the office would no longer comment on the issue.
"Neither I, nor the County Attorney's Office, are required to respond further to your request or to engage with you in a discussion of the legalities of the County's Policy, or the applicability of the opinion of the Office of Open Records Counsel, which does not have the authority to adjudicate conflicts of law, such as the conflict between Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 10-7-503(a)(7)(A)(i) and 10-7-503(a)(7)(C)(i)," She wrote. "Accordingly, this is my final comment on this request beyond fulfilling it upon receipt of your payment of the estimated amount, and any additional amounts that may be incurred in the event that the estimated amount is insufficient to cover the charges."
The first request, filed in late July, was made after a controversial meeting at which two commissioners drew criticism for a potential open meeting violation and two records showing related violations by the commission in the last 10 months. During that meeting, Ricardo Morris, president of Chattanooga Neighborhoods Arts Partnership, said Commissioners David Sharpe and Katherlyn Geter participated in meetings to discuss oversight of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, but the meetings had not been publicly announced or made known to all commissioners. The Times Free Press asked to inspect correspondence among the county commissioners, mayor and/or county attorney Rheubin Taylor, and the state's Office of Open Records Counsel, about public meeting violations.
Beltramo initially denied all records involving the county attorney, asserting that all of his communications fall under attorney-client privilege, but ultimately provided an incomplete sample of the records requested after being pushed on the legality of her denial.
The office of Open Records Counsel provided records this week which show further correspondences between them and the county which were excluded from the county's response to the request, adding to the example provided to the paper last week by Commission Chairwoman Sabrena Smedley.
Smedley said during Wednesday's commission meeting that before she turned over the email, she was encouraged to do so by Taylor.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at 423-757-6416 or at staylor@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.