I don't know whether to be angry or amused by Mayor Shabel's recent response to Mr. Barks' request for information (From the Mayor's Desk, Hermann A/C, 26 Nov 14, pg 4A). But in my opinion, the Mayor's lack of any official response was very unprofessional & completely unacceptable.
One justification for holding a closed, "executive session" meeting could include discussion of 'legal issues', such as revoking the contract with MoPEP. I would not expect the Mayor to discuss these legal proceedings in detail. This is clearly confidential information. Yet in all twelve Hermann Utility Advisory Committee Agendas posted online, I see no notice of any closed Executive Sessions so it would appear no sensative information was discussed during these meetings. Upon reviewing Mr. Barks' questions, I see no question asking for any information about revoking the contract with MoPEP. The Sunshine Law states that if a request for access to information is denied, "....the custodian shall provide, upon request, a written statement of the grounds for such denial. Such statement shall cite the specific provision of law under which access is denied and shall be furnished to the requester no later than the end of the third business day following the date that the request for the statement is received."
I'm no lawyer, but this would seem to be a better response to Mr. Barks' inquiry, as specified by MO Sunshine Law, although I fail to see any question Barks asked that could be considered an applicable 'legal issue'. Ignoring a taxpayer request & making sarcastic, flippant replies are not reactions I would expect from a Mayor. And Mayor, you can't justify NOT responding to ANY of Mr. Barks’ questions by citing "confidentiality", then simultaneously saying much of Barks' requested information is "public information".
I don't know Mr. Barks, but his questions appear neither inappropriate nor unreasonable. The Mayor identified Barks is an attorney & as such, Mr. Barks apparently structured his questions in what was perceived by the Mayor as an "interrogatory" format. So what. This does not mean Barks should be denied a professional & timely response.
I could be one of the "group of citizens" Mr. Barks referred to, that would like to know the answers to Mr. Barks’ questions. I still cannot believe that an inquiry from a constituent would be discussed with the city attorney to see if it was "legal" to respond or not. Unbelievable!
Since I too would like the answers to Mr. Bark's very intelligent questions, I have filed a complaint with the MO Attorney General (AG) to see if Mayor Shabel & David Polette are correct in stating that the Mayor does not have to answer any of Mr. Barks' questions. Maybe we can all learn something from this situation. I'm not trying to publically humiliate the Mayor, Mr. Polette or any city employee. I very much appreciate the city employees that perform the numerous tasks required to keep Hermann running like a well oiled machine. But I am bone weary of the Mayor's ignoring taxpayer inquiries about city affairs.
The Mayor has estimated that defaulting on the MoPep contract will cost Hermann taxpayers $500,000 to $1 million. This is a great deal of money. Taxpayers should expect to have questions answered in a professional & timely manner & shouldn't have to play word games with any Hermann official to get city related information, especially when taxpayer money pays their salaries. I know the Mayor likes his quotes so will close with this one. “Surround yourself with great people; delegate authority; get out of the way”― Ronald Reagan
If you have read down to here, thanks for your interest. The following was a subsequent email I sent to the editor, but wasn't published with the above letter, but I was hoping would be:
I heard back from Casey Lawrence, with the Attorney General's office today (Monday morning) & she advised that is if someone sends a written request to the Mayor (or any offical) that they have 3 days to respond, charging no more than 10 cents a copy for any information. It is NOT legal to NOT respond.
If the Hermann Mayor (or any official) does not respond within 3 days with either a specific reason & law reference cited in their correspondance, as to why they are not responding, then Ms. Lawrence advised for the requesting individual to contact her directly at 573-751-8905. This would be a violation of the Missouri Sunshine Law.
I hope Mr. Barks pursues his inquiry, as I would be very interested in his findings, as I'm sure many other taxpayers would also.
