Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the City of Ravenna violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in the disposition of William C. Van Cleve's November 14, 2017, request for "a copy of the minutes of the city council meeting that amended the payroll ordinance that changed Police Officer's starting salary from $ 9.50 per hour to $ 11.25 per hour." Since the city failed to respond to Mr. Van Cleve's request, we find that it procedurally violated the Act.
Mr. Van Cleve's request was hand-delivered on November 14, 2017, and signed for and dated by Mayor Estine Tipton. Having received no response by November 22, 2017, Mr. Van Cleve initiated this appeal, which was received in this office on November 28, 2017. The City of Ravenna responded to this appeal on December 5, 2017, by letter from the city attorney, who stated that the requested meeting minutes did not exist because the payroll ordinance had not been amended. The city attorney noted a discrepancy between the payroll ordinance and the hourly rate stated in the school resource officer's contract, and advised that the city had been informed of this discrepancy.
Since the City of Ravenna had the duty to respond to Mr. Van Cleve's request within three business days under KRS 61.880(1), and has given no reason for failing to do so, we must conclude that it procedurally violated the Open Records Act. Substantively, however, 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. We therefore find no violation in the city's failure to provide minutes of a meeting that did not occur.
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 shall be notified of any action in circuit court, but shall not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.