Issue behind FOIA complaint may be Dan Kramer who filed it

An item on the June 27 Sussex County Council agenda was a recent Freedom of Information Act – FOIA – complaint resolution, but the underlying factor is the growing conflict between council and the man who filed the complaint.

Council may have reached a tipping point as far as Greenwood resident Dan Kramer is concerned. Kramer rarely misses a meeting, and usually voices his opinion on issues during the public comment period at the start of each meeting.

Most of his comments are critical of council. During the June 27 meeting, two council members voiced complaints about what they called Kramer's lack of respect when he speaks to council.

Council President Mike Vincent, R-Seaford, took exception to Kramer referring to council members as turkeys – a term he frequently uses – as he spoke about the FOIA complaint, which he filed.

Their short exchange became heated. “You know Mr. Kramer, there is going to be a point in time when you are going to realize you get a lot more respect by giving respect,” Vincent said. “To come here and refer to anybody as a turkey is totally uncalled for.”

At that point, Kramer interrupted Vincent, who fired back. “I have the floor and you don't. You've had your three minutes [to speak],” Vincent said. “You have to start giving people proper respect.”

Kramer said he would give council respect when they earned it. “And you don't,” he said.

“We are almost done listening to you,” Vincent said.

Later in the meeting, Councilman I.G. Burton, R-Lewes, said he shared Vincent's frustration. “I don't like what is going on at all concerning Mr. Kramer's decorum and respect,” he said. “It might be time for us to change direction and determine what is acceptable and what's not.”

County officials say Kramer has filed 11 of 12 FOIA complaints since County Administrator Todd Lawson took office nearly five years ago.

Kramer disputes that number, saying he's filed five complaints – with one outstanding – since Lawson took office and filed 15 total complaints against the county since the 1990s.

Focus groups are not public meetings

In the complaint, Kramer argued that several focus group meetings conducted by McCormick Taylor, the county's comprehensive plan-writing consultant, were not advertised and were illegal meetings held in secret. Deputy Attorney General Jason Staib ruled that since McCormick Taylor is a private company and not a public body FOIA does not apply. “Sussex County did not violate open meeting regulations,” Lawson said. “The focus groups were not meetings as defined in FOIA.”

Lawson said the focus group meetings were held in mid-June of 2016 at the start of the plan process so the consultants could garner more information about issues in the county pertaining to housing, utilities, economic development and conservation, which are chapters in the plan. He said the consultants met with stakeholder focus groups without approval or input from county council or planning and zoning commission.

“It's what they do – it's part of their process,” Lawson said.

Kramer said that does not change his contention that it's council and the commission that have the knowledge about the county and not the consultants. “You should not let the consultants do what they want without input and without knowledge of the county,” he said.

“We have not ever been close to a FOIA violation,” Lawson said. “I'm proud of what we do.”

Lawson added that the ongoing process to write the 2018 comprehensive land-use plan has been conducted with a public input level never seen before in the county's history.

To speak or not to speak

Also during the public comment session, Paul Reiger of Georgetown suggested it may be time for county officials to receive FOIA training since there are several new members on the three levels of county government.

Reiger recently filed a FOIA complaint against the Sussex County Board of Adjustment where the term public comment was listed on the agenda.

When Reiger stood up to speak, he was denied time at the podium. The Attorney General's Office ruled that the board violated FOIA by including public comment on the agenda when it did not intend to allow it, but no remediation was warranted. The AG's Office recommended that board members pursue FOIA training.

The board placed public comment on the agenda to allow time for retiring Planning and Zoning Director Lawrence Lank to speak.

Reiger questioned why that complaint was not being discussed during the council meeting.

Vincent told Reiger that the board does not fall under auspices of county council. “They have their own attorney. We don’t oversee them. You need to bring that up to them,” he said.

“But there's no public comment allowed,” Reiger replied.

County attorney J. Everett Moore said the board is not a legislative branch and requires sworn testimony with no place for public comment at its meetings. He told Reiger that complaints should be sent to the board chairman and board attorney.