December 12, 2006; City of Rock Creek
12/12/2006 10:14:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:On October 26, 2006, IPAD received a letter from Donald Burger. In his letter, Mr. Burger asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding his right to gain access to certain data from the City of Rock Creek. IPAD requested clarification and additional information, which Mr. Burger provided on November 9, 2006. In response to Mr. Burger's request, IPAD, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Mr. Dennis Bonk, Mayor of the City. The purposes of this letter, dated November 13, 2006, were to inform him of Mr. Burger's request and to ask him to provide information or support for the City's position. On November 17, 2006, IPAD received a response from Heather Edmonds, Assistant Rock Creek City Attorney. A summary of the facts as Mr. Burger presented them follows. In a letter dated September 22, 2006, Mr. Burger wrote to Sandra Pangerl, the City Clerk /Administrator, and stated, I make this request to your attention assuming that you are the 'acting' responsible authority absent the formal City Council designation. Mr. Burger wrote: I am asking to view the following information in either annual '05 or '06 City fiscal year form as it exists in City documents that will allow determining [sic] the following: - Gross pay/salary for each City employee and Council member - Individual benefit compensation amounts including retirement funds and insurance - Individual gross mileage reimbursement - Individual gross reimbursement for City expenses - Gross compensation for City Assessor, City Engineer, Building/Sewer Inspector Mr. Burger clarified to the Commissioner that he was not asking to see pay stubs or tax withholding information. I am asking to see individual gross amounts in reference to my five bullet points. Mr. Burger enclosed the City's response to this request, and a copy of the minutes from the October 5, 2006, City Council meeting. In her response, dated September 27, 2006, Ms. Pangerl wrote to Mr. Burger: Thanks for your interest on the subject of Chapter 13 Data Practices. This item has been placed on the agenda for the City Council's October meeting. As you are aware, I am lacking the proper authority from the City Council, and as such I can't do anything regarding your request. The October 5, 2006, City Council minutes contain the following statement: [Mayor] Bonk stated the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act is a good idea to reflect on. This will be laid over to next month's meeting as we do not have a qualified staff member to do this. We have contacted the League of Minnesota Cities and the City Attorney regarding the matter and are waiting for further information and instructions. In reference to the letter received in the office dated September 22, 2006 [Mr. Burger's data request], all information requested is already published, monthly in the paper with the minutes and with the financial statement when it is published, the only requirement for PERA is the percentage number to be contributed. . . . Following the League of Minnesota Cities and the City Attorney's advice, the clerk responded to the requester with a letter dated September 27, 2006 letting him know that this will be placed on the City Council's October agenda, and lacking the proper authority from the City Council can not do anything regarding the request. In her response to the Commissioner, Ms. Edmonds wrote: The City acknowledges that, pursuant to Minn. Stat. section13.43, Subd. 2, a City employee's gross salary and expense reimbursement are public data. The City's position on retirement funds, upon advice received from the League of Minnesota Cities, is that the percentage of PERA benefits paid by the City are public data. The information regarding City employee salaries and PERA benefits is published annually. In addition, at the February 2006 Council meeting, the City provided copies of the 2005 financial statement to members of the public present at the meeting who were interested in such information. The financial statement included all of the salary and PERA information for City employees. A copy of the 2005 financial statement is attached. The City does not pay any other benefits to its employees. Mr. Burger also requested information regarding expense and mileage reimbursement. City employees seeking reimbursement for expenses report those expenses to the Council. The Council then approves or denies the request, and the City Treasurer cuts a check to pay the request. The slip requesting reimbursement is retained by the City. The City acknowledges that it did not provide this information to Mr. Burger. The City has ordered training videos so City employees can better understand their obligations under the Data Practices Act. Issue:Based on Mr. Burger's opinion request, the Commissioner agreed to address the following issue:
Discussion:Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 1, government data are public unless otherwise classified. Pursuant to section 13.03, when a government entity receives a data request from an individual who is not the subject of data, the entity is required to respond in an appropriate and prompt manner, and within a reasonable time. (See section 13.03, subdivision 2(a), and Minnesota Rules, part 1205.0300.) Pursuant to section 13.43, subdivision 2 (a)(1), the data Mr. Burger asked to inspect are public. In response to Mr. Burger's request, the City Clerk/Administrator told him that she lacked the proper authority to respond to his request, and that the City Council would consider the matter at its next meeting. At that meeting the Council determined that the matter would be laid over to next month's meeting as we do not have a qualified staff member to do this. In her comments to the Commissioner, Ms. Edmonds stated that the City acknowledges that it did not provide Mr. Burger with access to the expense reimbursement data he requested. She also wrote that the salary and benefit data are published annually, and that, at the February 2006 Council meeting, the City provided copies of the 2005 financial statement to members of the public present at the meeting who were interested in such information. The Commissioner has the following comments. Upon receipt of a request for access to government data under Chapter 13, the entity must either provide the requestor with access to the data, advise that the data are classified such as to deny the requestor access, or inform the requestor that the data do not exist. The City did none of those. Regardless whether the City had previously published the data, or had made the data available for public inspection at a council meeting, the City should have provided Mr. Burger with prompt access to the public data upon his request. The Council's statement that no City staff is qualified or authorized to respond to requests for data is not acceptable. Apparently the City has not taken action to appoint a responsible authority, who, pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 16, is the individual designated by the governing body of [a] political subdivision as the individual responsible for the collection, use, and dissemination . . . of government data. Pursuant to Minnesota Rules, part 1205.1000: Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.02, subdivision 16, the governing body of each political subdivision . . . shall, by September 30, 1981, if it has not done so, appoint a responsible authority. . . . The governing body shall confer on the responsible authority full administrative authority to carry out the duties assigned by the act and by this chapter. According to part 1205.0200, subpart 14 (B), the responsible authority for a city shall be an individual employee of the city appointed by the city council. In addition, there is a requirement, effective August 1, 2000, that required the City Council to appoint a data practices compliance official by December 1, 2000. The data practices compliance official is to serve as the government employee to whom questions or concerns about data practices issues may be addressed. (See Minnesota Statutes, section 13.05, subdivision 13.) This requirement for the City to have a compliance official is in addition to the requirement that it have a responsible authority. If it has not done so, the City should take the necessary action to appoint a responsible authority in order to comply with the requirements of Chapter 13 and its rules. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issues that Mr. Borger raised is as follows:
Signed:
Dana B. Badgerow
Dated: December 12, 2006 |
Response to data requests
Data Practices Compliance Official (DPCO)
Inappropriate response, generally
