Date Posted: Friday, December 22nd, 2017
Department of Justice received a request from the Delaware Department of Education for an opinion regarding the application of the formula contained in Title 14, Sections 408(d) and 509(e) of the Delaware Code to “match tax” expenditures that are funded by taxes levied by local school boards under authority granted by 14 Del. C. § 1902(b).
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Date Posted: Wednesday, December 20th, 2017
Petitioner requested a determination of whether the Climate Change Conference held by DNREC was required to adhere to FOIA’s open meetings provisions. DECIDED: No FOIA violation was found. This Office determined that the conference was not a meeting of a public body subject to FOIA’s open meetings provisions.
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Date Posted: Monday, December 18th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that the Seaford City Council violated FOIA by failing to provide sufficient notice of an agenda item. Specifically, the Council quoted the name of an ordinance but did not include the language “right to work” in the agenda item. DECIDED: This Office found no FOIA violation. The agenda item met the minimum standard of a “general statement of the major issues expected to be discussed.” The possibility that more descriptive language could have been used instead does not constitute a violation.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, December 13th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that DEMA withheld records showing the inventory of military equipment held by the Dewey Beach Police Department that the Petitioner had requested. DEMA responded that inventory records are only kept on a real-time third-party database and that it had provided all records responsive to the request in DEMA’s possession. DECIDED: This Office found no violation.
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Date Posted: Monday, December 4th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that DelDOT violated FOIA by redacting contact information for individuals who submitted electronic Road Condition Reports pursuant to Section 10002(l)(3). DECIDED: No FOIA violation was found.
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Date Posted: Monday, December 4th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that the Sussex County Council improperly redacted executive session minutes pursuant to Section 10004(b)(2) on the basis that real estate negotiations remain ongoing and releasing the redacted information would defeat the lawful purpose of the executive session. DECIDED: No FOIA violation was found.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, November 15th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that the New Castle County Register of Wills (Register of Wills) violated FOIA by sending its response to the Petitioner’s FOIA request to his prior prison address, rather than his current prison address, and by failing to provide a timely response. DECIDED: The Register of Wills provided a timely response to the Petitioner’s FOIA request and committed, at most, a technical violation by not sending the response to the most current address as indicated on the request. However, no remediation was recommended, as the record demonstrated that the Petitioner had received the response. To the extent the Petitioner alleged that the Register of Wills violated FOIA by failing to send hard copies of the request records, the opinion noted that FOIA only requires a public body to make records available for inspection and copying, but does not require the public body to send hard copies.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, October 25th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that the State Aid to Local Law Enforcement Committee (SALLE) violated FOIA by noticing an intent to convene an executive session for an improper purpose. The SALLE had noticed an intent to convene an executive session to discuss the contents of non-public documents; specifically, investigatory files. DECIDED: The SALLE noticed a proper purpose for an executive session and there was no evidence that the discussion itself was improper or exceeded the scope of the permissible purpose. The SALLE met with an investigator to discuss the status of an active investigation into potential misappropriation or misuse of funds, which includes a review of applications and related documentation.
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Date Posted: Friday, October 13th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that his request for documents related to an investigation was improperly denied in part. DECIDED: The record denied to Petitioner was properly denied because it is exempt from public disclosure under the attorney work-product doctrine pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10002(1)(6).
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Date Posted: Friday, October 13th, 2017
Petitioner alleged that the Council violated FOIA by failing to provide seven days’ notice of its September 18, 2017 meeting and that a special meeting was unjustified. DECIDED: This Office was satisfied that the City met its notice obligations by providing an explanation as to why seven days’ notice could not be given and, to the extent FOIA requires exigency or compelling need to justify a special meeting, the City satisfied this burden.
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