Johnson County commissioners spar over access to their own government’s public info
What is going on inside the Johnson County government?
A sitting county commissioner actually felt compelled to file open records requests to obtain information on county operations. And several former commissioners have expressed similar frustrations getting information from the county.
How can that be? Journalists and citizen activists too often have unwarranted difficulty getting public information. But don’t elected officials have insider access?
Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara says she often doesn’t, and she’s fed up about it.
“When I ask for information, I’m stonewalled. I’m denied the information,” O’Hara says. “I have to submit (requests for information) through the Kansas Open Records Act. It’s unbelievable to me, as a sitting commissioner, that when I make a request for information, it’s like, ‘No, you don’t have a right to see that.’”
One of her requests was for copies of emails between county health director Dr. Sanmi Areola and county school districts regarding the county’s COVID-19 mask mandate for elementary school students.
In response, she received an email from Assistant County Manager Joe Connor reading in part, “As a member of the Board of County Commissioners you are a part of the policymaking body, and management of employees rests with the county manager. A request of this nature should be referred to the county manager or be agreed to by a majority of the Board of County Commission members.”
Really? O’Hara says she had to rely on a private citizen’s open records request to get the emails.
Another O’Hara request was for historical county expenditures on public transit, which O’Hara says she eventually received via a KORA request.
“It’s a power struggle,” she says. “Who really is setting policy? Who really is in control? Who is working for whom? The answer in my mind, and I think in the minds of the public, is that they work for the people of Johnson County.”
What’s in commission Chairman Ed Eilert’s mind is quite different, however. He says O’Hara requested public transit financials going as far back as 1995, a pretty tall order. Eilert notes that the entire board of commissioners must authorize information requests that require more than four hours of staff time because of a commission policy dating to the early 2000s.
“Ms. O’Hara ignores that. When reminded of that, she simply makes a KORA request,” Eilert says. He notes a similar request of hers for a comprehensive 30 years of financial data from New Century AirCenter.
“The staff wants to be responsive and they are responsive. But there’s a reason the four-hour rule was put into effect.”
Open records problem for elected officials
Two former commissioners, Steve Klika and Mike Brown, expressed concerns similar to O’Hara’s about getting information on county operations.
“I’ve been there,” Klika says of O’Hara’s frustrations. “The staff has a way of exerting a certain level of authority or power which I just really questioned periodically.”
‘It does not surprise me Charlotte is experiencing this problem,” adds Brown. “When they’re not interested in you having the information, they just slow-walk you until you either go away or it blows up.”
Former commissioner Jim Allen’s experience was completely different. “If I went to (staff) with a concern or a problem, or wanted further information, I got it back in a timely manner,” he said. “To be honest with you, I can’t ever recall once that that didn’t happen.”
County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson says she’s disappointed in the complaints, as “one of the most important parts of our jobs as public servants is to ensure policymakers have the information they need to make the best decisions for our community.” She says county staff take the duty seriously, despite the COVID-era avalanche of often complex inquiries from commissioners and citizens.
“However,” she adds, “it is our job to do our best to navigate differences between individual commissioners and the full body, attempting to meet all requests as appropriate.”
Johnson County officials have a public relations/open records problem on their hands. They need to come together in a retreat or reorientation session to smooth over their differences on the dissemination of the public’s information.
It would help not only the staff, but the commissioners — and, by extension, county residents.
