PaFOIC

Granted: Ethics Commission letter to council president

Granted: A request for a copy of a 2002 letter from the State Ethics Commission to the West Mifflin Borough Council president, regarding conflicts of interest and voting.
From the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition

Granted:
A request for a copy of a 2002 letter from the State Ethics Commission to the West Mifflin Borough Council president, regarding conflicts of interest and voting.

The borough had denied the request for the letter, stating that it was personal correspondence that was not a matter of public record. In response to an inquiry from the Office of Open Records, the borough also argued that it did not create or maintain the letter, therefore did not consider it public record.

The OOR said that the definition of public record is not limited to documents created by an agency, but also encompasses those received by an agency in connection with a transition, business or activity of an agency, and ordered the letter released.

Stanesic vs. West Mifflin Borough -- AP 2009-0085