National Freedom of Information Day and the Public Records Lawsuit Against Stanly County

Today is National Freedom of Information Day, an annual event designed to highlight the importance of open government and educate the public about the dangers of excessive and unnecessary government secrecy.

As you know, government records at every level are public documents and the Freedom of Information Act allows citizens to request and receive public records in a timely manner.  The system usually works pretty well, butapparently not in Stanly County.

Nearly a year ago, Alcoa Power Generating Inc. filed a public records request in Stanly County, seeking information about the county’s opposition to a new license for the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.  You may have heard that Stanly County has spent nearly $1 million in taxpayer money on Raleigh lobbyists, lawyers and PR firms to oppose a new license.  We wanted to learn more about the motivation behind Stanly County’s opposition and its excessive spending of taxpayer money.

Despite the clear nature of the public records law, Stanly County ignored our initial request for public documents.  A follow-up request yielded a handful of documents, but after more than 11 months it became clear that Stanly County had no intention of turning over public records as required by law.  That’s why we filed a lawsuit against the county last Friday.  You can read about the lawsuit in The Charlotte Observer or The Salisbury Post.   

We look forward to finally learning more about why county officials have spent nearly $1 million in taxpayer money to attack the county’s long-standing business and single largest taxpayer.  We will let you know what we learn when and if Stanly County complies with the law.

Click here to learn more about Sunshine Week, a national initiative sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors to promote the importance of open government and freedom of information.