In Evanston, Illinois, a city clerk is in a legal battle with the city over access to local public records. Devon Reid, who is responsible for handling requests for public records, said, "So I see my role as the FOIA officer, and especially as one of the only elected FOIA officers in the state … is to make sure that we are fighting for the public's interest at all times and to make sure that all public records are accessible to the public."

Amye's Note: This is fascinating.

In Illinois, the position of city clerk is elective under some forms of municipal government. As elected city clerk, Reid serves Evanston as its FOIA Officer.

My immediate reaction was one of surprise and concern. The potential for politicization of the process may be greater under this system, as we see here.

By statute, city clerks in KY serve as records custodians for all city agencies, but they are appointed — KRS 83A.080(2)(a) — not elected.

It would be unusual (though not inconceivable) for a city clerk to be at odds with the city agencies he or she serves. The clerk would probably be removed if this tension existed and the problem would be "eliminated."

Many, if not most, records custodians in Kentucky (including but not limited to city clerks) receive assistance/direction from

agency counsel — especially on more sensitive records access issues. Since they serve at the discretion of the agencies, they generally implement the "will" of the agencies they serve in discharging their duties as records custodians.

This presents its own problems if the agency is internally politically polarized. I'm aware of at least one city which, several years ago, was accused of selective disclosure of records based on internal political alliances.

But this is rare. The problem described in this article is therefore unlikely to occur in Kentucky.

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