Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the City of Ravenna violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in the disposition of William Van Cleve's March 20, 2017, request for a copy of petty cash records. For the reasons stated below, we find no violation of the Act.
Mr. Van Cleve's request, addressed to Ravenna City Clerk Katie Mooers, stated as follows:
I would like a copy of the petty cash account from July 1, 2016 through February 28, 2017 for the amounts of money added to the petty cash account and from what account the money was taken from [ sic ] and added to the account. Also, I would like a copy of all expenditures from the petty cash account and what the expenditures were for the same time period.
In an undated response, the clerk replied: "We do not have the record that you requested."
Mr. Van Cleve initiated an appeal on March 27, 2017, arguing that the record should exist:
On the December 2016 financial report (to the city council) there is an entry of $ 300.00 being transferred from petty cash to receipts as income for the general fund. If the city clerk does not have any records for the petty cash account, then where do the funds come from to replenish the account and how are the petty cash funds expended?
On April 4, 2017, attorney Beverly Brewer, on behalf of the city, submitted an affidavit sworn by Ravenna Mayor Estine Tipton, stating the following:
1. I am the Mayor of the City of Ravenna, Estill County, Kentucky.
2. The entry of "Petty Cash" under receipts on the December 2016 City of Ravenna Financial Report was a one-time data entry error made by an employee who is no longer employed at the City of Ravenna.
3. The $ 300.00 entered as "Petty Cash" on the December 2016 City of Ravenna Financial Report should have been entered as a "Property Tax" receipt as it was received as payment for a property tax bill. The error was identified and the property tax payment was eventually deposited into the correct account.
4. The payment for the property tax bill has been credited to the appropriate property owner and the funds have been reallocated to the "Property Tax" fund/category.
5. We do not maintain record [ sic ] of "petty cash" transactions, as we do not regularly use it.
Therefore, the city argues that it properly stated to Mr. Van Cleve that no such records existed.
A public agency cannot afford a requester access to a record that it does not have or that does not exist. 99-ORD-98. The agency discharges its duty under the Open Records Act by affirmatively so stating. 99-ORD-150. Mayor Tipton's affidavit, to the effect that the "Petty Cash" entry was a mere clerical error and the city does not regularly use petty cash, is a sufficient explanation for the absence of any records of such an account. Accordingly, we find no violation of the Act.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General must be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.