In the face of concerns about a new town Freedom of Information policy, First Selectman Paul Roy has asked town employees to sign a memo indicating they understand their role in handling FOI requests.
But some town board members Tuesday were concerned about the new policy, which puts most of the responsibility for responding to FOI requests on the shoulders of volunteers serving on boards and commissions.
While the discussion took place at the Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday, the board did not vote to make changes.
Board of Selectmen member W. Kurt Miller said he was concerned that volunteers — like himself — can face fines for slow FOI response time, even if those delays are caused by town employees.
Board of Finance chairman Mark Thompson, who has spoken out against the new policy before, said it will deter citizens from volunteering on town commissions.
There are other concerns too, Thompson said, like what happens when people get their personal emails and computers involved in public business. It’s a situation that did not necessarily exist when state FOI rules were created 25 years ago.
That is a concern because some FOI requests can come through personal email, even when a person is on vacation, Thompson said.
“Unless Town Hall gives me an email account, I’m going to stop conducting business with my personal email. I can’t run the risk of having my computer confiscated by the FOI,” Thompson said.
The town policy — called the Freedom of Information Response Policy — became effective Oct. 7. Story continues after document.
It was prompted by a confusion with an FOI request sent to the Board of Finance. With the same request going to several different individuals, it was unclear who was responsible for responding.
Roy said he hoped to allay some fears by having town employees sign the memo that explains their role.
“I will get them to sign off on it and I will file it in their file,” Roy said.
There have been two FOI requests in the past couple of weeks and the new policy worked well, Roy said.
Town Counsel Colleen Fries told the selectmen she is confident the policy is completely adequate to meet all requirements of state FOI law.
“I’m confident this is the best plan,” Fries said.
The policy as written states that boards and commissions must respond to FOI requests, while forwarding copies to the First Selectman’s office. If a person is on vacation when they receive an FOI request, the FOI would accept the delay as long as they respond immediately when they return, Fries said.
There was no prior written policy about responding to FOI requests in town.
The new policy applies to all boards and commissions.
