Judge to hear open records case
By Courtney L. Anderson
The [Sharon] Herald Staff Writer
A Mercer County Common Pleas Court judge next week will hear the appeal of the Sharon Sanitary Authority regarding the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records ruling that they must allow The Herald to inspect delinquent sewer accounts.
Judge Christopher J. St. John set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Thursday on the matter.
After asking authority members to identify scofflaw landlords who may owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in back bills several times, The Herald on June 3 sent a formal request to the authority asking to review delinquent accounts.
These inquiries were made as the authority was dealing with a surge in delinquencies after rates doubled in January to help pay for a $45 million new wastewater treatment plant.
The authority refused access to the information, so the newspaper appealed to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which on Aug. 21 ruled in favor of the newspaper and said the authority must release the information because it is an activity of a public entity.
On Sept. 10 authority members voted to appeal the ruling to Mercer County Common Pleas Court and the appeal was filed Sept. 17.
The authority’s solicitor, William J. Madden, claimed in the filing of the appeal that the determination by the state is “contrary to law” because it requires the authority to violate the Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act and would require the authority to create a record it does not have.
Herald attorney William G. McConnell Jr., in answering the appeal, denied that claim and said that the authority should have a list of those who owe money or that The Herald can ascertain who is delinquent from reviewing account records.
The Office of Open Records found that the Fair Credit Act does not apply to government agencies.
In his filing, McConnell points out that the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know law states that “a record in possession of a local agency is presumed to be a public record” and that the burden is on the agency to prove that it is exempt.
McConnell also stresses that the law prohibits an agency from denying access to records due to the intended use of the requester. The authority argued that releasing the names to the newspaper could be seen as a tactic to collect the debt.
The Right-to-Know law provides the authority with immunity from civil penalties resulting from compliance with the act, McConnell noted.
McConnell also asks that the court rule that the authority pay The Herald’s legal fees in fighting their stance if the court deems it an “unreasonable interpretation of the law.”
The [Sharon] Herald Staff Writer
A Mercer County Common Pleas Court judge next week will hear the appeal of the Sharon Sanitary Authority regarding the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records ruling that they must allow The Herald to inspect delinquent sewer accounts.
Judge Christopher J. St. John set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Thursday on the matter.
After asking authority members to identify scofflaw landlords who may owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in back bills several times, The Herald on June 3 sent a formal request to the authority asking to review delinquent accounts.
These inquiries were made as the authority was dealing with a surge in delinquencies after rates doubled in January to help pay for a $45 million new wastewater treatment plant.
The authority refused access to the information, so the newspaper appealed to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which on Aug. 21 ruled in favor of the newspaper and said the authority must release the information because it is an activity of a public entity.
On Sept. 10 authority members voted to appeal the ruling to Mercer County Common Pleas Court and the appeal was filed Sept. 17.
The authority’s solicitor, William J. Madden, claimed in the filing of the appeal that the determination by the state is “contrary to law” because it requires the authority to violate the Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act and would require the authority to create a record it does not have.
Herald attorney William G. McConnell Jr., in answering the appeal, denied that claim and said that the authority should have a list of those who owe money or that The Herald can ascertain who is delinquent from reviewing account records.
The Office of Open Records found that the Fair Credit Act does not apply to government agencies.
In his filing, McConnell points out that the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know law states that “a record in possession of a local agency is presumed to be a public record” and that the burden is on the agency to prove that it is exempt.
McConnell also stresses that the law prohibits an agency from denying access to records due to the intended use of the requester. The authority argued that releasing the names to the newspaper could be seen as a tactic to collect the debt.
The Right-to-Know law provides the authority with immunity from civil penalties resulting from compliance with the act, McConnell noted.
McConnell also asks that the court rule that the authority pay The Herald’s legal fees in fighting their stance if the court deems it an “unreasonable interpretation of the law.”