Request By:
IN RE: Brenda M. Freeman/City of Henderson
Opinion
Opinion By: Chris Gorman, Attorney General; Amye B. Majors, Assistant Attorney General
OPEN RECORDS DECISION
This matter comes to the Attorney General on appeal from the actions of the City of Henderson relative to Ms. Brenda M. Freeman's September 28, 1992, request for access to all records generated in the course of a public hearing on the issue of the demolition of a garden shed located on her property in Henderson. As we noted in OAG 92-121, Ms. Freeman's shed is the subject of an ongoing dispute which has culminated in her decision to initiate a civil action in circuit court.
In OAG 91-121, this Office directed the City to release the remaining documents in the file it had compiled in this matter. We held that the City, which had previously released virtually every document in the file, must also release documents containing information relating to the educational qualifications of certain public employees. Ms. Freeman acknowledges that these documents were released.
Nevertheless, it is her position that the City is withholding certain documents which corroborate that a hearing in fact took place. She argues that the City must either release the records, deny her request and cite the exception authorizing nondisclosure, or state that no records exist which satisfy her complaint.
On behalf of the City, Mr. H. Randall Redding, City Attorney, responded to Ms. Freeman's request. In a letter dated October 6, 1992, Mr. Redding advised her that she had received a copy of everything in the City of Henderson's file. Continuing, he observed:
I do not know how to comply any further with your request but to say that the entire file involving your case has been made available to you and copied for your convenience.
While he did not expressly state that no records exist which satisfy her request, he confirmed that she had been provided with every document in the City's file.
We are asked to determine whether the City's actions violated the Open Records Act. We believe that OAG 91-112, a copy of which is attached, is dispositive of this appeal. In that opinion we held that a public agency cannot furnish access to documents which it does not have. It is the opinion of this Office that the City of Henderson has discharged its statutory duty under the Open Records Act by releasing its entire file pertaining to this matter.
We respectfully decline to comment on the propriety of the City's actions relative to the purported denial of Ms. Freeman's due process rights. This issue is beyond the scope of an open records appeal. KRS 61.880(2). Nor can we advise Mr. Freeman how she should proceed in circuit court, other than to note that she may challenge this Office's decision in that forum. We have, however, enclosed a copy of the Open Records Act to which she may refer in initiating an action.