Audit finds poor compliance with Missouri Sunshine Law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Most local governments didn’t follow protocol when they received open-records requests testing their compliance with Missouri’s Sunshine Law, and some charged high fees or didn’t respond at all, state Auditor Nicole Galloway announced Tuesday.

Auditors in August sent the letters to more than 300 cities, villages, school districts and other entities. The auditors didn’t use official letterhead in an attempt to get a glimpse of how local governments would respond to a request from a citizen.

They asked for agendas and minutes from the last public meeting of 2015 — basic information that should be accessible to all citizens as required by law.

Galloway’s office found only about 30 percent fully complied. Others responded late, charged fees as high as $80 or never responded. Galloway, who will be the only Democratic statewide office holder in Jefferson City when Gov.-elect Eric Greitens and others take over in January, called the responses “extremely disappointing.”

“They demonstrate that we have a long way to go in improving government transparency,” she told reporters at her Capitol office.

About 37 percent blew the three-day deadline to respond to public-information requests, and 16 percent didn’t respond as of mid-September, about six weeks after receiving the requests.

Locally, the Public Water Supply District 4 of Cape Girardeau County, Kelso School District, Scott County Library District, Public Water Supply District 1 of Scott County, Bois Brule Levee and Drainage District of Perry County, Liberty Township of Stoddard County, Drainage District 28 of Stoddard County, Duck Creek Township of Stoddard County and the village of Whitewater failed to comply with the request.

Letters to the village of Allenville, city of Bloomfield and Districts 1-7-13 and 33-14-17-19 of Stoddard County were undeliverable.

A report of the audit notes poor compliance with the Sunshine Law could mean fines, lawsuits and loss of credibility.

Four local governments denied requests in violation of state law. Responses included asking the auditor to pick up records at the local courthouse, questioning who requested the information and demanding an explanation of why the Sunshine Law request was being made and what would be done with it.

State open-records laws don’t require citizens to explain why they request information, what they want to do with it or to provide identification.

“These are public records that citizens request, and citizens have a right to access this information,” Galloway said. “I mean, come on; we’re talking about meeting minutes here.”

Galloway called for more education about how local governments can comply with Sunshine Law requests.

She said it’s up to the attorney general’s office to enforce the law, and consequences are needed to incentivize local governments to comply.

But Jean Maneke, an attorney for the Missouri Press Association, said there’s already training.

“It just makes it clear that elected officials either don’t get the message or don’t take it seriously,” she said.