On 9 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee sent the following Freedom of Information (FOI) letter requesting the amount of the expenses paid by Tunica County in Oct 2012 for Tunica National..
DELIVERED Via Email 9 Nov 2012
Dear Mr. Dulaney:
Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request a total sum of the Oct 2012 expenses paid by Tunica County for Tunica National. This amount would be over and above the $39,583.33 showing in the Oct claims.
It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)).
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.
Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Barbara R. Tuchel
Cc: Clifton Johnson
Robert Tuchel
On 13 Nov 2012, our the Transparency Committee received the following information:
Andy,
The following is a list of expenses for Tunica National for the month of October 2012:
Salary $ 7,593.24
Ret. Match $ 1,082.80
SS Match $ 559.66
Insurance $ 620.00
Telephone $ 88.20
Utilities $ 14,491.44
Advertising $ 185.44
Serv. Agreements $ 600.00
Appropriations $ 39,583.33
Furniture & Equip. $ 4,681.00
Total Expenses $ 69,485.11
Also on 9 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee sent the following FOI letter to Tunica County Public Projects, Inc./Tunica National.
DELIVERED Via US Mail
9 Nov 2012
Nolan Canon, President
Tunica County Public Projects, Inc.
PO Box 1453
Tunica, MS 38676
Dear Mr. Canon:
Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request a total sum of the Oct 2012 income and expenses of Tunica County Public Projects, Inc. This amount would be over and above and should not include the $39,583.33 received from Tunica County.
It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)).
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.
Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Barbara R. Tuchel
Cc: Robert Tuchel
On 5 Dec 2012, the Transparency Committee received a letter in response to the above FOI letter:
Ms. Barbara Tuchel
P.O. Box 1076
Tunica, MS 38676
Re: November 9, 2012 letter
Dear Ms. Tuchel:
We are in receipt of the letter dated November 9, 2012. However, we do not believe that we are subject to the laws as cited in your letter as we are not a public entity.
To clarify this, I am writing the appropriate official in Jackson to request an opinion. If we are subject to this law, we will certainly respond.
Sincerely,
TUNICA COUNTY PUBLIC PROJECTS, INC.
By Nolen Canon, President
So, in a nutshell it looks like former Boards of Supervisors created Tunica County Public Projects, Inc. as a means of keeping income and expenses under cover? Hmmm, maybe the current Board of Supervisors needs to consider cutting TCPP's funding until they tell the public what their monthly income and expenses are.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Freedom of Information for Tunica County Employees
On 8 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee sent the following FOI letter to County Administrator Clifton Johnson through the Board of Supervisors' attorney.
DELIVERED Via Email to: Attorney Andy Dulaney 8 Nov 2012
8 Nov 2012
Clifton Johnson
County Administrator
Tunica, MS 38676
Dear Mr. Johnson:
Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request that a list of all persons employed by Tunica County as of 1 Oct 2012 be made available to the public by placing a copy of this listing in the Oct 2012 minutes of the Board of Supervisors of Tunica County, MS. If it is not possible to place this request in the Oct 2012 minutes, please place the requested records in the Nov 2012 Tunica County Board of Supervisors’ Minutes. This list would include the name of each employee, the department to which each employee is assigned and the corresponding salary for this employee for the period covering 1 Oct 2011 through 30 Sep 2012. This request is being made on behalf of the Citizens of Tunica County and their right to know.
It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)). This is not necessary if you will just make the above request available to the public as stated.
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.
Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Barbara R. Tuchel
cc. Andy Dulaney
Robert Tuchel
On 13 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee received the following response from Andy Dulaney.
I have this request. Certainly you can request and received a list of the county’s employees and their salaries.
As to the issue to include that information in the requested format in the Board’s minutes, I think that is a Board decision outside of the public records act.
If you would like this list, let us know and we can get it.
Thanks,
Andy
On various occasions, the Transparency Committee has spoken with Clifton Johnson about this annual inclusion. It is my understanding that the Board of Supervisors decided to only include this listing when raises are involved. We can not find this decision in the public records.
Additionally, the Transparency Committee has found more then one error in the listings we do have. When we found these errors, we reported them to the County Administrator and were never given confirmation that the records were corrected.
The Transparency Committee will go to the Board of Supervisors on 14 Dec 2012 and request this information be included in their records as of 1 Oct each year.
Good news. We made our presentation tonight at the Board of Supervisors' Meeting and the Board voted to make this information a part of their minutes each January. Making this listing a part of their minutes will put this information in the Public Records and therefore available for all to see.
Thanks to the Board of Supervisors for taking this action.
DELIVERED Via Email to: Attorney Andy Dulaney 8 Nov 2012
8 Nov 2012
Clifton Johnson
County Administrator
Tunica, MS 38676
Dear Mr. Johnson:
Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request that a list of all persons employed by Tunica County as of 1 Oct 2012 be made available to the public by placing a copy of this listing in the Oct 2012 minutes of the Board of Supervisors of Tunica County, MS. If it is not possible to place this request in the Oct 2012 minutes, please place the requested records in the Nov 2012 Tunica County Board of Supervisors’ Minutes. This list would include the name of each employee, the department to which each employee is assigned and the corresponding salary for this employee for the period covering 1 Oct 2011 through 30 Sep 2012. This request is being made on behalf of the Citizens of Tunica County and their right to know.
It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)). This is not necessary if you will just make the above request available to the public as stated.
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.
Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Barbara R. Tuchel
cc. Andy Dulaney
Robert Tuchel
On 13 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee received the following response from Andy Dulaney.
I have this request. Certainly you can request and received a list of the county’s employees and their salaries.
As to the issue to include that information in the requested format in the Board’s minutes, I think that is a Board decision outside of the public records act.
If you would like this list, let us know and we can get it.
Thanks,
Andy
On various occasions, the Transparency Committee has spoken with Clifton Johnson about this annual inclusion. It is my understanding that the Board of Supervisors decided to only include this listing when raises are involved. We can not find this decision in the public records.
Additionally, the Transparency Committee has found more then one error in the listings we do have. When we found these errors, we reported them to the County Administrator and were never given confirmation that the records were corrected.
The Transparency Committee will go to the Board of Supervisors on 14 Dec 2012 and request this information be included in their records as of 1 Oct each year.
Good news. We made our presentation tonight at the Board of Supervisors' Meeting and the Board voted to make this information a part of their minutes each January. Making this listing a part of their minutes will put this information in the Public Records and therefore available for all to see.
Thanks to the Board of Supervisors for taking this action.
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