05-19-2008, 10:51 PM
Attorney general to politicos: Keep it in the Sunshine!
> Posted by Brittany Wallman at 1:10 PM
Recently the Fort Lauderdale police union made an interesting record request. They wanted copies of text messages sent from the cell phones of the city manager, George Gretsas, and one of his assistants, David Hebert.
Attorney General
Bill McCollum
"We are unable to fulfill your request for copies of text messages .... as text messages are considered transitory and therefore not stored,'' the union was advised in a letter from DJ Williams-Persad, an assistant city attorney, on April 15.
Attorney General Bill McCollum was here at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel late last week and said his gut tells him that text messages sent by government employees would be public record.
McCollum made clear he hadn't researched the issue, but he did say that his office hasn't had a good public records lawsuit in a while. And they would not mind at all sinking their teeth into one, he said. Particularly one that addresses advancing technology, and the possible skirting of the law by government officials.
For example, some public officials have private email accounts in addition to their public ones. Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson has one, and she forwards some emails she gets in her public account, to her private one, and then responds from there.
Who decides whether those emails are public, or private? Hutchinson said she does so with emails related to her mayoral campaign.
McCollum said he was interested in looking into issues like that. He said he wants to send a message to public officials: keep government business in the Sunshine.
> Posted by Brittany Wallman at 1:10 PM
Recently the Fort Lauderdale police union made an interesting record request. They wanted copies of text messages sent from the cell phones of the city manager, George Gretsas, and one of his assistants, David Hebert.
Attorney General
Bill McCollum
"We are unable to fulfill your request for copies of text messages .... as text messages are considered transitory and therefore not stored,'' the union was advised in a letter from DJ Williams-Persad, an assistant city attorney, on April 15.
Attorney General Bill McCollum was here at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel late last week and said his gut tells him that text messages sent by government employees would be public record.
McCollum made clear he hadn't researched the issue, but he did say that his office hasn't had a good public records lawsuit in a while. And they would not mind at all sinking their teeth into one, he said. Particularly one that addresses advancing technology, and the possible skirting of the law by government officials.
For example, some public officials have private email accounts in addition to their public ones. Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson has one, and she forwards some emails she gets in her public account, to her private one, and then responds from there.
Who decides whether those emails are public, or private? Hutchinson said she does so with emails related to her mayoral campaign.
McCollum said he was interested in looking into issues like that. He said he wants to send a message to public officials: keep government business in the Sunshine.