City May Tighten Access to Its Public Records

Dunedin's acting attorney said on Thursday that he believes the city is in violation of laws meant to protect the privacy of certain employees.

Tom Trask, who has been sitting in as city attorney since retired after nearly 40 years in April, told commissioners that they have been unwittingly breaking the law by allowing open public access to city officials' e-mails, citing exemptions code 119.071.

Trask suggested commissioners immediately move to a process that allows a trained person — such as the city clerk — to review all e-mails for confidential information before granting access to media or others. This change would ultimately limit the media's access to e-mails only upon request.

Commissioners expressed extreme discomfort for such a change.

“I have a hard time limiting their access [searching],” Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski said, explaining that open searching allows people, especially the press, to identify fraud, misuse, mismangement or waste that could otherwise remain hidden. “The way you’re proposing doing this — they have to know specifically what they’re asking for. … If they don’t know what to ask for, it’s a hidden issue. ... I feel that is a form of withholding information.”

Up until Trask shut down the designated public access computer about five weeks ago, members of the media could log in at City Hall and search through city commissioners’ e-mails, in accordance with public records Florida Sunshine Laws.

Trask cited examples of confidential information that should be redacted — or "blacked out" — before it is released. Examples of exemptions included medical information, bank account numbers, social security numbers and addresses of emergency personnel. The city’s traditional ease-of-access stance actually puts that secure information at risk, Trask said.

“If we do it intentionally, it’s a misdemeanor in the first degree,” he said, which comes with a $500 fine per violation.

Commissioners argued that it’s understood that all e-mails are a matter of public record, and for that reason, sensitive information would never be shared in e-mail.

“I don’t think any of that has been in an e-mail in the five years I’ve been in public office,” Bujalski said. “I have no problem with the filtering,” but “I want the same easy access.”

Mayor Dave Eggers brought up staffing concerns, “We can’t do it mechanically,” meaning, “it has to come back to a system of somebody doing it.”

“I think resources is the main thing,” City Clerk Denise Schlegel said.

Commissioner David Carson suggested keeping an open-search policy for e-mails of elected officials, but limiting it for those of city employees, suggesting that the media is less inclined to randomly search interdepartmental e-mails unless they are looking for something specific. In those cases, reporters could request information and the task of filtering the e-mails would be less cumbersome.

A final decision on the issue was not made Thursday.

*Updated 10:54 a.m., July 25, 2011.