Records request sparks controversy

Sept. 4, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - Penny Nixon is threatening to file a lawsuit against the Mat-Su Borough, charging that the borough has denied him access to public documents, specifically e-mail communications from Borough Manager John Duffy, Mayor Tim Anderson and 11 department heads.

The debate stems from a June 14 request by Nixon for e-mails, and differing opinions on the interpretation of borough and state laws.

Nixon believes the borough's insistence that he pay $5,000 to cover the cost of hiring a computer technician to retrieve the e-mails from the borough's archives to be a denial of the free access provided under borough code.

Duffy and the borough take the position that they are entitled to charge retrieval fees as allowed by state law.

The two parties have debated their position for more than a month, and neither seems to be willing to budge. According to the laws in question, both parties are correct.

Nixon argues that according to borough code (MSB 1.50.050), they are required to provide access in person to all public documents not protected by attorney/client privilege, at no cost.

"It's clear to me that the borough does not want to release the records," Nixon said.

"Even if I were to pay the fee, I doubt they would release the records. This is a regular request for information. I have made countless similar requests over the last four years and none have been denied in the past. Why am I being denied access now?"

"I simply wanted to see if there is any indication that the mayor was coordinating a veto with the assembly members through his department heads," Nixon said.

Duffy said in a response to Nixon's threat of a lawsuit, in an Aug. 22 letter, that at no time has the borough denied access to the records being requested.

He indicated that state law (AS 40.25.110) allows for the borough to charge for records retrieval if the request would take more than five hours to compile. The law also states the borough is allowed to charge this fee up front.

Nixon argued in his Aug. 22 letter threatening a lawsuit that the borough is in violation of the same state law Duffy used to support his position, and alleged he is being denied access to public records.

"The borough is required by local, state and federal law to provide access to the requested public documents," Nixon said.

"And they have specifically denied the public access to records clearly permitted by law," he said. "I thought that there might be something questionable going on in the borough, now I wonder what they are trying to hide."

Contact Darrell Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@frontiersman.com.