Another Freedom of Information Request Made to Commissioner
Dear Citizens,
I expect you will soon be hearing how I am attempting to stifle public information requests and thought I would let you know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.
Several months ago I was asked to provide the last 100 emails I had sent and every contact on my county computer. I did as asked despite our attorney advising I could cull personal emails and personal contacts. I never dreamed the viciousness of local politics would expand out of this county. I was wrong. In response to my openness, friends and family across the nation received an email attacking me and others in this county. Because of the actions I just described, I bought and have since used my personally-owned lap-top computer for all my county work. I no longer use a county-owned computer. However, all official emails are still subject to public records requests and I maintained them so the public can get access to them.
The same citizen who made the public records request I just described has again asked me to provide a copy of the last 100 emails I’ve sent. Since I’m now using my personal equipment, I will provide official emails. In my opinion, this is a fishing expedition to attempt to find something that can be used against me. I will provide the last 100 official emails I’ve sent or received to the person who asked for the information. However, in accordance with State and Local laws, I will be asking this person to pay Wakulla County for my time and the cost of printing these emails. I would much rather spend my time working on ways to improve planning, finding corrective actions for our sewer system, or the myriad of other issues I tackle on a daily basis. I love working for the citizens of Wakulla County.
I have no idea how much to charge for my time. I’ve been accused of making almost $200 per hour ($28,000 divided by 24 meetings that are approx 6 hours long). Of course, this is wrong. All your commissioners work many hours researching issues and searching for answers to complicated problems. I have decided to charge $30 per hour for the approximately 4 hours it will take me to cull through my emails to find, print, and deliver the last 100 official emails I’ve sent. In accordance with state and county ordinances, I’ve asked our administrator to relay this information to the citizen who is asking for this information. Once the county receives an advance of $120 for my time (if I can complete this job quicker than 4 hours a prorated portion will be returned) as well as an additional $30 for the approximately 200 pages I will have to print (15 cents per printed page), I will provide the information requested. If more pages are needed or more time is required, the citizen will be asked to pay the additional costs.
This decision is mine alone and should not be attributed to our administrator, county staff, county attorney, or other commissioners. In fact, I have no idea how Chairman Langston is responding to this public records request.
Please understand if you ask for a specific email I’ve sent or received so you can better understand an issue I will find and provide that email at no cost. This blatant fishing trip is another story.
I am most happy to work with citizens to find solutions to problems or discovering better ways to operate. I am not interested in witch hunts. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to assist you in any manner.
An exact transcript of the public records request (to the best of my typing ability) is attached below my signature block (scroll down). Despite the request being a public record, I have removed the citizen’s name and email address from the transcript.
Sincerely,
Ed Brimner
Wakulla County Commissioner, District III
(850) 251-8709 (Cell)
(850) 926-0919 (Office)
(850) 926-0940 (FAX)
This letter originally published on August 27, 2007.
Doublethink written by Karla Brandt , August 31, 2007
According to Mr. Brimner, all his official actions, including e-mails, are part of the public record; yet, if anyone actually asks to see his e-mails, that person is an enemy of the state.
Here’s another instance of Mr. Brimner’s bizarre thought processes, prompted by my inquiry into a course in West Virginia he attended in July. I wanted to know when he arranged to go to that course because it overlapped with a Wakulla County Commission meeting, which he missed. It turns out he signed up for the course back in March, in plenty of time to notify the other commissioners that he would be absent. Here’s an excerpt from Mr. Brimner’s e-mail sent to me and to government employees who provided me with the information I requested:
“She is a self-appointed watch-dog who is looking for any mistakes I may have made so she can use them for political purposes. This citizen oversight is normal and is part of taking the lead and attempting to make changes in how this county grows.”
In his novel “1984,” George Orwell put a name to this kind of bizarre self-contradicting illogic. He coined the word “doublethink,” which he defined as:
“The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them...To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them...”
Rumor has it that Mr. Brimner wants to run for public office above and beyond our wacky little county. Let’s hope he finds a cure for doublethink before the voters let him get into bigger mischief.
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IF I DID IT . . . written by hughtaylor , August 31, 2007
You know, O.J. Simpson wrote a book, "If I Did It." Well, I think there's been some misconception relative to just exactly what I "did" to merit Mr. Brimner's wrath,
sooooooooooo,
I'm going to let you read for yourself what it was I wrote that made Mr. Brimner so mad last time (and possibly is the reason he's stonewalling on my public record request this time).
This may be the last word from me on the subject, but it seems that from recent comments Mr. Brimner's still spinning. So here's the email from last time. As you might remember, Mr. Brimner made some pretty vicious and untrue comments about Commissioner Kessler in a long email during Dr. Kessler's re-election campaign. But to paraphrase Fox News, here's the email . . . you decide:
This email is not about personalities, nor is it about Mr. Brimner's feelings or views. This is about facts. He has said he would reverse himself if presented with the facts. Well, he has been presented the facts on different occasions, but has refused to correct his mistakes.
Brimner mentioned that another commissioner, Howard Kessler, MD, made the motion to renew the contract of the old county administrator and extend his severance time. This is false. I refer you to the 2/6/06 board vote. Maxie Lawhon passed the gavel to Commissioner Kessler and made the motion.
He also stated that under his tenure, only advanced septic tank systems were approved for new subdivisions. This is not true. The Park subdivision was approved with regular septic tanks in May of 2005, and in the Tallahassee Democrat series on Wakulla Springs, the reporter found that only 2 permits for advanced septic tanks had been issued in the county as a whole.
Brimner suggests that he could have obtained lower taxes and suggests that Dr. Kessler cost the county a lot of money. If you want, go to the final budget hearing C/D and you can hear Dr. Kessler trying to get some help lowering the taxes. No cooperation from Mr. Brimner, however. For him to suggest otherwise is not true and the facts are readily available on the C/D.
Ironically, Mr. Brimner is a sitting commissioner who should know better, but for some reason is trying to poison the water against Dr. Kessler. I wanted to tell people the truth and where the information can be verified. Mr. Brimner said that presented with the facts he would reverse himself. Unfortunately as of this date he has not.
Thank you for your time. The next sound you hear will be the other shoe dropping . . ."
Well, how 'bout it? What do you think about what I "did?"? Angry or viciouos? Nope. True? Yep. Mr. Brimner, the truth can set us all free.
Thank you, wakulla.com, for providing a forum. Your civic concern and involvement is wonderful to witness. Thank you for allowing me to participate.
Hugh Taylor
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Smoke and Mirrors written by greg mitchell , August 30, 2007
That a boy Ed, keep us guessing. Oh, by the way, most of us, already have you figured out.
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Grinding to a Halt? written by Suzanne M Smith , August 30, 2007
Ed Brimner took an oath of office, he's being compensated for his time with a salary. Why should he require someone to pay extra funds for his time when he's already being paid to do his job?
If making public records requests brings this county to a grinding halt, we've got far more serious problems in our local government.
It would take 5 minutes max to transfer those emails to a disk.
If Open Government is good enough for Gov. Crist(and it IS the law) then why the fuss? Nobody is above the law and that includes Ed Brimner.
If Brimner doesn't want his private email viewed and I agree private email should NOT be released, then he should not be sending it out through the county owned, taxpayer supported Internet Provider. He need only get his own private provider and use that for his private email. It isn't real complicated.
Mr. Brimner has already caused the county enough money over the Alfred Nelson fiasco, do we really need another law suit?
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IF "GRINDING TO A HALT" written by hughtaylor , August 29, 2007
Or "time" wasted is a concern, let's be clear: Mr. Brimner could have obeyed the law in 3 minutes, less time than it took him to write that fractious email.
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... written by Danny Strickland , August 28, 2007
what information is the fisherman looking for???
i see our county grinding to a halt if grown men and women can't act as such, both tax payer and county officer alike!
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My Post Didn't Go Poof written by Cale Langston , August 27, 2007
Actually Suzanne M Smith I removed it. When you post in an open forum like this folks tend to interpret things the way they want to because of preconceived opinions. Not the way it was originally posted. That was done so here, and I chose to remove my post.
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Ed, are you that afraid of the truth? written by Suzanne M Smith , August 27, 2007
Geez, what happened to that nice, articulate, and very factual post regarding public records request procedures from Cale Langston?
How very odd it would just *POOF*. Could it be little Eddie didn't like the truth? Awwwwwwwwww, poor baby Eddie. Who'd you call? Truthbusters?
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... written by hughtaylor , August 27, 2007
Durn, what’s a citizen to do? If I was a sitting Wakulla County Commissioner I don't think I would be sending out an email like Mr. Brimner did. Is it an attempt to justify his non-compliance with a legal request? To attempt to intimidate me and/or others? I hope that’s not the case.
Here’s some information, from Barbara Petersen at the First Amendment Foundation, a statewide organization devoted to the “Sunshine Law.” They conducted a forum on exactly this subject last year. Mr. Brimner was invited. Too bad he couldn't make it. Ms. Petersen writes:
Despite the tone of his e-mail, Mr. Brimner does seem to realize that all e-mails on his private computer relating to county business are public records. But the e-mail raises three important points: first, I question why it would take four hours to review 100 e-mails. Second, the extensive use fee is applicable ONLY IF there’s an extensive use of agency resources. What is the county’s definition of “extensive”? Also, the fee must be reasonable and must be based on actual costs incurred. Mr. Brimner is not free, then, to simply pluck a figure ($30/hour) out of the air; he must determine what it actually costs him to review the e-mail and that fee, according to case law, should be based on the base hourly wage of the lowest paid person capable of doing the work. Finally, Mr. Brimner must provide you copies of the e-mail in an electronic form if you’ve asked for them in that format. In other words, he can’t make you take paper if you want them in some electronic format.
In other words, once again Mr. Brimner’s whining. Does he think he is above the law or beside the law? Does he think his runaround somehow obviates the very law he swore to uphold? Additionally, here’s a pretty topical comment from this morning’s Tallahassee Democrat:
Short and sweet: Mr. Brimner could comply with my request very easily, a matter of a few keystrokes on that personal computer of his. I think he’s trying to stifle the public and perhaps intimidate others for the future. Am I fishing? Nope. I’m looking. That’s none of his business, anyway. The law doesn’t say a citizen can’t fish, it says Mr. Brimner has to comply legally and efficiently, with my legal request, fishing or not.
And I would be very interested in finding out the name of the "right agency" Mr. Langston mentions. Maybe I could make a complaint.
If I were fishing that is . . .
Taut lines, everyone!!
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... written by Jimmie Doyle , August 27, 2007
None of this is surprising since this is Wakulla County where rules are made as we move along. The surprise is from Cale Langston's report that a state agency can help us alleviate this problem. Hope he will share the name of the agency with us.
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Why? written by Suzanne M Smith , August 27, 2007
Why on earth would you be using the county IP to send private emails, Ed? It's not for your personal use, taxpayers money pay for it.
It seems rather simple, pay for your own IP, and send your private emails from there.
Please stop whining about public records requests and suggesting it's a blatant fishing trip. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
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sounds like a resonable request written by Al Shylkofski , August 27, 2007
Well Ed, Im wondering why you would make such a fuss over complying with a citizens request for what is surely public documents. Requests of this type are relatively routine and I would think are done all the time. After all you are a County Employee even if it's just a temp position. I think you may be making things more difficult than they need to be. Printing all those emails isn't really necessary. It's just a matter of highlighting a bunch of emails and hitting forward. Unless of course you are intentionally trying to avoid sending them. Is there something there that may prove embarrassing?
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Here’s another instance of Mr. Brimner’s bizarre thought processes, prompted by my inquiry into a course in West Virginia he attended in July. I wanted to know when he arranged to go to that course because it overlapped with a Wakulla County Commission meeting, which he missed. It turns out he signed up for the course back in March, in plenty of time to notify the other commissioners that he would be absent. Here’s an excerpt from Mr. Brimner’s e-mail sent to me and to government employees who provided me with the information I requested:
“She is a self-appointed watch-dog who is looking for any mistakes I may have made so she can use them for political purposes. This citizen oversight is normal and is part of taking the lead and attempting to make changes in how this county grows.”
In his novel “1984,” George Orwell put a name to this kind of bizarre self-contradicting illogic. He coined the word “doublethink,” which he defined as:
“The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them...To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them...”
Rumor has it that Mr. Brimner wants to run for public office above and beyond our wacky little county. Let’s hope he finds a cure for doublethink before the voters let him get into bigger mischief.