Records Policy Sparks Debate 

By Mary Hinds
Loudon County News-Herald
Sept. 14, 2006

County Mayor Doyle Arp has stirred controversy with his new policy concerning requests to see and copy public records. In one of his first acts as mayor, Arp has set stricter guidelines and imposed higher fees for obtaining public records.

Anyone requesting information must fill out a form in the mayor’s office and pay a minimum, upfront, nonrefundable fee of $25 plus 25 cents a page for any copies of county documents. If a request for documents takes Arp’s staff longer than an hour to research, the person requesting the information must pay an additional $25 per hour.

Local activist Pat Hunter addressed the Loudon County Commission on this issue at the Sept. 11 meeting. She is one of a small group that closely monitors local politics and frequently requests public records in county offices.

She said at the meeting there had been no public discussion of the fee and no public vote. "This isn’t democracy anymore. This isn’t fair," said Hunter of the new policy. Arp defended his decision to create the new guidelines. He said he felt the frequent requests for public records were keeping his staff, and the staff in other public offices, from doing their work.

"We can’t have people in and out of the complex. Treat it like a business and you will be waited on," said Arp.

Courts in the state and the attorney general have determined public officials can charge fees for copying public records, provided those fees reasonably reflect the actual costs for making the copies. However, state officials have said local governments cannot charge a fee for viewing public records or for the time employees spend helping citizens inspect public records. The new policy in Loudon County seems to be at odds with these legal findings.

Another citizen, Ailene Longmire, spoke at the meeting saying she was unable to get a copy of County Attorney Harvey Sproul’s expenses, which she has done with no difficulty for years. According to Longmire, when she requested a copy of the records she was informed she must fill out a request at the mayor’s office and when she went to fill out a form she was told Arp wasn’t in his office, frustrating her efforts to view and copy the records.

Arp explained Sproul’s expense records contained some names on pending lawsuits and had to be "whited out" to protect these people. He went on to note some of the documents requested by Hunter contained the 1099 tax forms and Social Security numbers of county employees.

"People who work for Loudon County will be protected," Arp stressed. "I won’t turn records over for you to prowl through them."

JoAnne Tuner, another citizen upset about the policy, said from her seat at the meeting that the new policy "is illegal." At that point Commissioner Don Miller asked Chairman Roy Bledsoe to bring the meeting back to order.

Commissioners took no action on the matter.

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