18-IB39 8/16/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Ms. Sue Murphy Ogden re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Christina School District
Petitioner alleged that Christina School District withheld requested information. DECIDED: No FOIA violation was found, as the District asserted it did not have records meeting the parameters of the petitioner’s request and FOIA does not require a public body to create a new record.
Read More18-IB38 8/16/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Daniel Kramer re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Sussex County Council
Petitioner alleged that Sussex County Council violated FOIA by not including sufficient detail in the executive session minutes or its motion to during a public meeting and by allowing a councilmember to take part in the executive session discussing the land acquisition despite recusal. DECIDED: The executive session minutes were sufficiently detailed and therefore complied with FOIA. The motion was sufficiently detailed due to the need for maintaining confidentiality of the site acquisition price. Although no violation was found, Council should have publicly disclosed the price at a later public meeting. No FOIA violation was found with regard to the councilmember’s recusal from executive session since he departed upon recognizing the need for recusal.
Read More18-IB37 8/14/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Herman Holloway, Jr. re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Wilmington Housing Authority
Petitioner alleged two FOIA violations against the Wilmington Housing Authority: that a vote to approve a topic discussed in executive session gave insufficient notice of the topic to the public and that it was not properly noticed in the agenda. DECIDED: First, it was incorrect to label the purpose of the executive session as “personnel” in the agenda. This Office determined that WHA committed a technical violation which required no remediation. Second, no FOIA violation was found for the allegation of insufficient notice with regard to the vote.
Read More18-IB36 8/10/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. John Flaherty re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Office of the Governor
Petitioner alleged that the Office of the Governor claimed executive privilege too broadly in redacting requested records. DECIDED: The Office of the Governor met the existing legal standard to justify its use of executive privilege. No FOIA violation was found.
Read More18-IB35 8/7/2018 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Courtney French re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Wilmington Housing Partnership
Petitioner alleged they were improperly denied records of the Wilmington Housing Partnership, which were also in the City of Wilmington’s possession. WHP responded that it is not a public body subject to FOIA and that they had not been asked for records. Additionally, they argued that the records were not public records that the City of Wilmington could disclose. DECIDED: WHP is determined to be a public body. This office recommended that they respond to Petitioner’s request in the time required by FOIA.
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