Request By:
City of Crossgate
Records Custodian
P.O. Box 6423
Louisville, Kentucky 40206City of Thornhill
Records Custodian
2311 Thornhill Road
Louisville, Kentucky 40222
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong Attorney General; By: Cicely D. Jaracz, Assistant Attorney General
Mr. S. J. Stallings, attorney, has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your failure to respond to his request to inspect certain records in your custody. Specifically, Mr. Stallings requested to inspect the following:
1. The current budget and the budget for the previous five years of the City.
2. The most recent budget ordinance of the City.
3. Any agreement or proposed agreement of which the City is a party pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, KRS 65.210 et seq., regarding the funding and pursuance of activity similar to that conducted by the Brownsboro Road Area Defense Committee.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that your failure to respond constitutes an improper denial under the Open Records law.
A city budget is a public record under KRS 61.870 and is thus open to public inspection. OAG 76-287. Current budgets are required to be published pursuant to KRS 424.240. Previous budgets and current budgets are both open to public inspection, as previous budgets have lost any "preliminary" quality by being closed and current budgets are "working" budgets indicative of final action. OAG 76-551; KRS 61.878(1)(g), (h). For the same reasons, the budget ordinances of the city would also be open to inspection.
An agreement pursuant to KRS 65.210, the Interlocal Cooperation Act, is also open to public inspection as it constitutes final action by the city. KRS 61.878(1)(g). Copies of such agreements must be filed with the county clerk of the county which is party to the agreement before the agreement becomes operative. KRS 65.220.
It is therefore the opinion of the Attorney General that Mr. Stallings should be allowed to inspect the requested documents under the Open Records law. The current and past city budgets, as well as the budget ordinances, are open to public inspection as they constitute final action. Any agreement pursuant to KRS 65.210 is open to inspection for similar reasons.
As directed by statute, a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requester. Should you decide not to company with this opinion, you may initiate further proceedings pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).