Audit finds poor compliance with Missouri Sunshine Law

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 such as road, water, ambulance and transportation development districts. 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. The Mid-Continent Library system in the Kansas City area was the agency that requested fees in excess of $80 for the requested documentation, which Galloway said was an overly burdensome charge for such a simple documents request.

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 about 16 percent didn’t respond as of mid-September, about six weeks after receiving the requests.

In an interview with The Star in Kansas City on Tuesday, Galloway said compliance in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties was somewhat better than statewide, but that about 50 percent of entities in those three counties either failed to respond in a timely manner or did not meet all applicable criteria.

She said the last time that the auditor’s office tested compliance like this was in 1999, although this time the auditor’s office dug deeper for information.

The 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.

“If there’s no consequence for noncompliance, then what is the incentive besides engaging with your citizens and making sure you have a good relationship with your constituency?” Galloway said.

The Star’s Lynn Horsley contributed to this story.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 10:28 AM with the headline "Audit finds poor compliance with Missouri Sunshine Law."