24-ORD-071
March 20, 2024
In re: Randy Skaggs/Hopkins County Judge/Executive
Summary: The Office cannot find that the Hopkins County
Judge/Executive’s Office (“the agency”) violated the Open Records Act
(“the Act”) when it did not respond to a request to inspect records it
claims it did not receive.
Open Records Decision
Randy Skaggs (“Appellant”) claims that, on January 22, 2024, he mailed a
request to the agency for copies of various records related to the county’s animal
control shelters.1 In a box in the top left corner of the request, in large font, the
Appellant asked that “All Documents Be Remitted By April 1st, 2024.” However, on
the second page of the request, in underlined text in the last paragraph, he asked the
agency to “inform [him] by Friday, February 9th, 2024, as to whether or not you
intend to honor” his request. Having received no response from the agency by
February 19, 2024, the Appellant initiated this appeal.
Upon receiving a request for records under the Act, a public agency “shall
determine within five (5) [business] days . . . after the receipt of any such request
whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the
request, within the five (5) day period, of its decision.” KRS 61.880(1). On appeal, the
agency claims it never received the request. The Office has routinely found it is
unable to resolve factual disputes between the parties to an appeal under
KRS 61.880(2)(a), including disputes about whether the public agency received the
request. See, e.g., 23-ORD-071; 23-ORD-005; 22-ORD-216; 22-ORD-148; 22-ORD-125;
22-ORD-100; 22-ORD-051; 21-ORD-163. Accordingly, the Office cannot find that the
1
The Appellant claims to have mailed the same request to all 120 county judge/executives. As proof,
he provides a picture of a tray containing several envelopes. However, the only address that is legible
in the picture is the address at which the Appellant submitted his request to the Cumberland County
Judge/Executive.agency violated the Act when it did not respond to a request it claims it did not
receive.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an action in the
appropriate circuit court under KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882 within 30 days from
the date of this decision. Under 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. The Attorney General will accept notice of the complaint
emailed to OAGAppeals@ky.gov.
Russell Coleman
Attorney General
/s/ Marc Manley
Marc Manley
Assistant Attorney General
#102
Distributed to:
Randy Skaggs
Jack Whitfield, Jr.
Chesley W. Riddle, III