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Wed, Oct 14, 2009
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Dewey officials to be
briefed on open government
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Town to answer FOIA complaint
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Dewey Beach town officials are getting a refresher on how to keep public business public.
After the council meeting Saturday, Oct. 10, town attorney Glenn Mandalas will brief commissioners and committee chairs on the rules and regulations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Enacted in 1967, FOIA requires government meetings to be open to the public and allows citizens access to government documents.
Commissioner Marc Appelbaum said the briefing is intended to get Dewey officials on the same page about what is and is not permissible under FOIA.
“Some people view the regulations differently than others,” he said. “Sometimes, what common sense says you can do, you can’t.”
Appelbaum said after he and Commissioner Marty Seitz were elected, they attended a crash course in municipal government in Dover. Appelbaum said the seminar was well intentioned, but a little difficult to absorb. With recently elected Mayor Rick Solloway and Commissioner James “Zeke” Przygocki both new to municipal government, Appelbaum said Saturday’s meeting would be a good time for town officials to brush up on open government.
“We have the right group of people,” he said. “They believe to the man that the curtains should be opened – that’s the spirit of FOIA.” Przygocki said he favors open government in all aspects, and looks forward to Mandalas’ presentation. Solloway was unavailable for comment.
The FOIA briefing didn’t come soon enough for late Dewey resident Vivian Barry.
Barry filed a multi-pronged FOIA complaint with the Attorney General’s Office Sept. 10. She claims a FOIA violation occurred in August when Town Manager Gordon Elliot called commissioners individually, asking their opinion on whether to accept or reject federal stimulus funds for the Bayard Avenue project.
“Whether it was a decisive vote is not the issue,” she wrote. “Discussions, deliberations and actions on public business – the entire decisional process – must be conducted openly.”
Barry filed her complaint 15 days before her death. Her husband, Bob Barry, has resumed the complaint in her name.
Wilmington-based attorney and FOIA expert Richard Elliott said Elliott’s calls constitute a meeting.
“You can’t bypass your meeting laws by polling your people individually,” he said in an Aug. 30 Cape Gazette article. “I don’t care if he’s just getting advice. It constitutes a meeting.”
Barry also claimed Dewey violated open government requirements by refusing comment during the Aug. 14 town council meeting. A discuss-and-vote agenda item was advertised for the transfer of $225,000 from a capital improvements fund to the town’s legal budget. At the meeting, however, commissioners refused to hear public comment and voted to transfer the funds.
Jason Miller, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said the Attorney General’s Office is waiting for the town to respond to Barry’s complaint. A response was originally due Friday, Oct. 2, but Mandalas requested and received an extension until Monday, Oct. 12. Mandalas was unavailable for comment.
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