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August 15, 2000; Blue Earth County
8/15/2000 10:15:43 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:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of IPA and, except for any data classified as not public, are available for public access. On May 16, 2000, IPA received a letter dated May 13, 2000, from Francis Wingen. In his letter, Mr. Wingen discussed difficulties he was having getting access to data that Blue Earth County maintains. IPA staff asked Mr. Wingen to clarify his request which he did in a letter dated June 6, 2000. Mr. Wingen asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion. IPA, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Dennis McCoy, Administrator of Blue Earth County, in response to Mr. Wingen's request. This letter served to inform him of Mr. Wingen's request and to ask him to provide information or support for the County's position. On June 30, 2000, IPA received a response, dated same, from Kurt Deter, an attorney representing Blue Earth County. A summary of the facts according to Mr. Wingen is as follows. Mr. Wingen and two acquaintances went to the County courthouse to look at the ditch file. At that time, they looked at a parcel book prepared by a W.A. Frederickson. Mr. Wingen wrote, It had each parcel described with the feet of tile installed, type of land, land benefit, title benefit, and a map. Someone in Mr. Wingen's party asked for a copy, and County staff advised that one would be sent, for a fee. A copy was never received, and Mr. Wingen went back to the County and again asked for the book. Mr. Wingen wrote, We asked for the book and [County staff A] pulled out a different one signed by Bert Hanson. We asked for a copy and [County staff A] refused. Mr. Wingen related that he went back to the County a third time and staff brought out a different book signed by Harold Healy. Mr. Wingen wrote: We were surprised again to see a different one. They all had the same figures but were worded different. These people were the viewers. [County staff B] gave us a copy of the pages we needed without charge. We told [County staff B] that there are two more books in the file that we wanted copies. [County staff B] said [County staff A] had pulled those books and they were up on [County staff A's] desk. We asked [County staff B] to get them for a copy. [County staff B] tried but they were gone and have never been found. Issue:In his request for an opinion, Mr. Wingen asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:
Discussion:Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 1, government data are public, unless otherwise classified by state statute, federal law, or temporary classification (not applicable in this case). Pursuant to section 13.03, subdivision 3, government entities are required to respond to requests for access to public data in a prompt and appropriate manner. Minnesota Rules, part 1205.0300, provides additional guidance; the entity must respond within a reasonable time. In his response to the Commissioner, Mr. Deter wrote: I have been retained by Blue Earth County to respond on the Blue Earth County Ditch #77 Matter....I have...checked with [the County Attorney] and [the County Administrator] and they are unfamiliar with any request for information. The viewers' workbooks that are discussed, I believe, are from the Viewers' Report that was done in the 1940s. Under Minnesota Statutes 103E, all records are kept as part of the ditch file. Since I have been unable to get to Mankato since the date of your letter, I am unfamiliar as to whether these 1940 viewers' workbooks are in the file. However, I want to stress that all information in the ditch files are public record and, to my knowledge, Mr. Wingen has never been denied access to the ditch files. ...As with all county ditch files, county ditch #77 is open for public review with the statutory requirement that the originals need to stay in possession of the county. Whatever records are in the Blue Earth County Ditch #77 file are still present. Mr. Wingen is represented by counsel and either his counsel or Mr. Wingen are free to review the ditch files at their convenience. The Commissioner's comments on this matter are as follows. First, pursuant to section 13.03, subdivision 3, Mr. Wingen does have the right to gain access to public government data. However, subdivision 3 also requires that any requests for government data be made to the responsible authority of the entity. In this case, Mr. Deter wrote that the County Administrator - presumably the responsible authority - was not aware of any of Mr. Wingen's requests. Therefore, unless one of the County staff with whom Mr. Wingen was communicating is the responsible authority, the Commissioner recommends that Mr. Wingen go back to the responsible authority and make a written request for the data. If the County Administrator is not the responsible authority, he should provide that information to Mr. Wingen. Second, Mr. Wingen stated that he examined viewer books written by W.A. Frederickson and Bert Hanson, and that those books then apparently became unaccessible. There is no dispute that the county ditch file #77 is open for public review. Therefore, the County should locate those books so that Mr. Wingen, upon his request to the responsible authority, can gain access to the data. One final note is in order. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 15.17 and 138.17, government entities are required to maintain government data for certain periods of time. Assuming the data in question are part of an official record, unless those data were approved for destruction, they should be available for inspection. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Mr. Wingen is as follows:
Signed:
David F. Fisher
Dated: August 15, 2000 |
Requests for data
To responsible authority or designated person, required
