Resolution Revisited

Association To Reconsider Following Freedom Of Information Act

Last updated Sunday, May 27, 2007 5:33 PM CDT in News

By James Bowie
The Morning News

Generally, the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act provides for open meetings and open records of government entities supported by public tax dollars, said Tres Williams, communications director for the Arkansas Press Association.

An executive session can't focus on general staff changes, only the status of a specific staff member, Dale said. So if the association followed the law, discussions about staff restructuring would have to be in public, she said.

Association board members' decision to comply with the Freedom of Information Act came after a lawsuit filed by resident Jim Parsons. Parsons said he was prompted to go to court because board members were calling one another prior to meetings to get a consensus on agenda items.

Benton County Circuit Court Judge Tom Keith ruled that the association isn't bound by the law because it is a private, nonprofit corporation, Parsons said. Nevertheless, the board of directors voted to follow "the spirit of the law," about two months later, he said.

He said he knows the association doesn't have to follow the law, but he hasn't noticed any violations since the resolution passed.

"They are a private club. If they want to break their own rules, they can break them," Parsons said.

Dale said only a lack of knowledge would have prevented the association from following the law.

"As far as I know, we have complied with everything FOIA requires us to do," Dale said.

The association recently denied a Freedom of Information Act request from The Morning News seeking the contract of Golf Director Mike Shea. Shea agreed to stay on as golf director May 10 after saying three weeks earlier he planned to leave for a job in Casper, Wyo. Bailey said at the time that Shea returned for the same pay, $87,980, even though the Casper job paid more.

Bailey said in response to the request that a nondisclosure provision in the contract prohibited the association from releasing it. "I signed that in good faith, that it is a confidential agreement," he wrote.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the contract would be considered a public record, Williams said.

Williams said he doesn't think the Property Owners Association is obligated to follow the Freedom of Information Act, but it is admirable that it adopted the act voluntarily.

"If they say that, and then they are not abiding by it, then their gesture is fairly hollow," Williams said.

One association board member said he agrees with writing a new association policy, but he wants it to have some teeth. "I've wanted (the resolution) to change since the beginning," said Director Bill Williams.

He would like for the new policy to penalize staff and board members found in violation. As it stands, the resolution is "genuinely meaningless," Williams said.

Williams said he has walked out of executive sessions since the 2004 resolution when he believed board members were violating tenets of the act.

Nevertheless, Williams said he doesn't think the association should adopt a policy identical to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. There are issues best handled in private, he said.

Land purchases are one example, Williams said. Prices can rise quickly when it is announced the association is interested in buying a parcel.

Instead of saying specific documents will be open, the new policy needs to say documents of a general nature are open, Williams said.

"There are some things that should be confidential, but not very many," Williams said.

Parsons said he doesn't think the association should exclude anything included in the Freedom of Information Act, but he knows the association can do whatever it wants.

"Anything they do that involves our assessment dollars, we have a right to know what they are doing," Parsons said. "It is our money and it is our business."

Anderson said the newly incorporated town of Bella Vista must comply with the Freedom of Information Act, something that's already caused some chagrin.

"It has been a learning curve," Anderson said.

The Freedom of Information Act is something the town will live with and follow, but he doesn't think it is appropriate for a private corporation such as the Property Owners Association.

He said his biggest complaint with the act is that business deals must be conducted publicly.

"It is more difficult, in my mind, to conduct business in the FOIA world than in the non-FOIA world," Anderson said.

Bella Vista's attorney, Jason Kelley, said he is familiar with the Freedom of Information Act and he knows the town's elected officials are also aware of the law.

"I think everyone I've addressed about it is very cognizant of FOIA," Kelley said.

Kelley said he is familiar with the law because of his work experience. He said he investigated FOIA violations when he served as deputy prosecutor for the county. "I think the Freedom of Information Act is a very good thing," Kelley said. "I think you should always attempt to err on the side of openness and access to records."

AT A GLANCE

Freedom Of Information Act

Legislative intent: It is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that the electors shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in making public policy. Toward this end, this chapter is adopted, making it possible for them, or their representatives to learn and to report fully the activities of their public officials.

Source: Arkansas Freedom Of Information Handbook

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