Right To Know Requests - Are you sure you want to use the word "inundating", Sheriff Wiggins?
Belknap County (NH) Sheriff Wiggin
As readers of the 'Grok well know, Doug (along with former Laconia Mayor Tom Tardif) has been fighting with the County Convention and Commissioners to do the right thing and just follow the laws that have been set in place that determine how NH Counties are to be governed. Process type stuff - what happens when, and why. Should be simple...
Well, back on March 3, in the Laconia Daily Sun (page 4), Sheriff Wiggins let his displeasure be known with Doug with a Letter to the Editor (Doug had used the Sheriff's and the Correction Superintendent's salaries as examples in his column). While he used his most of his Letter to let the reading public of all of his (and his department's) qualifications, he did throw in this:
While inundating the county’s administrative staff with endless Right-to Know requests, Mr. Lambert has received volumes of information, some of which he has either not read, or chooses to ignore.
I thought that 'inundating' was a tad over the top, so what did I do? Of COURSE you know what I did - I filed an RTK asking how many RTKs Doug had filed over the last three years (The County's Chief Financial Officer didn't seem to understand the humor in this when I showed up with my request). What did I find? Well, I don't think that it rose to the level of 'inundating':
1. Feb 27, 2008 For the County Treasurer - records pertaining to:
Borrowing authority orders for 2007, 2008, dates that the Treasurer appeared before the Executive Committee with respect to 2007 & 20082. Feb 27, 2008 For the County Commissioners - records pertaining to:
Notices, Minutes, Orders to borrow of/by/for the County Commissioners from 10/1/2007
3. Feb 27, 2008-Belknap Executive Commitee Chair Nadeau - records pertaining to:
Notices, Minutes, since 6/1/2007 and Borrowing resolutions/ orders / approvals for 2007 / 2008
4. Feb 19, 2008-County Commissioners / Convention - records pertaining to:
Notice/Minutes for 12/10/2007 and for RSA 24:23 purposes
5. Dec 11, 2007-County Commissioners - records pertaining to:
Total Cost of Employment for all Belknap County Employees and Elected Officials
6. Dec 7, 2007-County Commission Administratove Secretary-records pertaining to:
- Notice for Executive Committee meeting - 11/26/07
- Notices for Executive Committee meeting - 6/1/06 to date
- Minutes for Executive Committee meeting - 6/1/07 to date
- Notices for County Convention meetings 7/1/2007 to date
- Minutes for County Convention meetings 10/1/2007 to date
- Advertisement for Register of Deeds
- All job descriptions for Belknap COunty employees
- All employee wages for FY 2006 and 2007 to date
7. July 23, 2007 - Belknap COunty Convention, David Russell
- The seven applications for County Sheriff
- All Letters of Recommendations for the above
- Score sheets for ranking the above
A total of 7 requests for 16 line items. All of which, in my opinion, should be readily available and on hand as a matter of simple business procedure.
Naw, not "inundating".
Oh yeah, I mentioned the County's Chief Financial Officer a bit ago. Well, given that Nancy Cook, the County's Chief Financial Officer, has been placed on administrative leave while the State Attorney General is investigating her office, I think that Doug probably didn't file ENOUGH Right-To-Know ("RTK") requests.
And she was so kind with my RTKs....she sent the results to the Post Office so that I'd have to pay C.O.D. Charges. Without contacting me to offer to let me pick them up at the County Office. My thanks to her for her kindness.
And bigger thanks to Marie Mora for actually retrieving said documents and then personally calling me to let me that she had done so and that I could pick them up at the County Office. Much obliged, ma'am!
