{"id":2174,"date":"2011-04-18T09:36:59","date_gmt":"2011-04-18T13:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/industrial-authority-defensive-about-minutes.html"},"modified":"2011-04-18T09:36:59","modified_gmt":"2011-04-18T13:36:59","slug":"industrial-authority-defensive-about-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/industrial-authority-defensive-about-minutes.html","title":{"rendered":"Industrial Authority Defensive about Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/a>\nCould the Industrial Authority try any harder to make it look like\nthey’ve got something to hide?\nOf all things to go to the mattresses about: their board minutes?\n

\nThe VDT picked up on our series about\n\na local citizen being overcharged for an open records request for\nVLCIA agendas and minutes.<\/a>\nIn a front page Sunday VDT story,\n\nDavid Rodock reports:<\/a>\n

\nIn response, The Valdosta Daily Times submitted their own Open Records\nRequest for the salaries of all Industrial Authority employees.\n

\nAccording to the information provided by the Authority, the lowest paid\nfulltime employee, the Operations Manager, is paid an annual salary\nof $46,526.\n

\nWhen this number is divided by 2080, (52 weeks multiplied by 40 hours\nper week) it shows that the lowest paid full-time employee is making\n$22.40 per hour.\n<\/blockquote>\nThe salary quoted on the invoice is not the same as either\n\n\nof the\nsalaries quoted in the salary request: $24.23 vs $22.40 or $10.25.\nHow did they come up with that? It can’t be the fully loaded\ncost given her $22.40 per hour salary. It also doesn’t match\n35 ($25.56) or 37.5 ($23.85) hours.\nCan they not do arithmetic?\n

\nAn Authority receptionist is working part-time at a rate of $10.25\nper hour.\n<\/blockquote>\nWell, the law does say “lowest paid full-time employee”.\nSeems like a very slow rate of work, though.\n
\n\u201cWe have provided the information that you requested and if you would\nlike to discuss this any further, I would suggest that you speak with\nJerry Jennet, our chairman. I have no further comment,\u201d said Ricketts.\n

\nJennet, who is out of town this weekend, offered to answer questions in\nthe presence of J. Stephen Gupton, the Authority attorney, on Monday at\ntheir offices.\n

\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to do it together or we\u2019re not going to do it,\u201d\nsaid Gupton, after refusing to answer questions over the telephone,\ndespite being told that the story was running Sunday.\n

\nAccording to Hancock, Ricketts explained to her that the five hours\nrequired to process these documents were a result of changing the format\nfrom word documents into .pdf files. Unofficially, the Times was told\nthat this was done as a security matter so that the minutes could not\nbe altered.\n<\/blockquote>\nWhat could possibly take 5 hours?\n

\nFive years of meetings 2006-2010 times 12 = 60 meetings,\nplus a few this year.\nWith maybe a few executive sessions for legal but those\naren’t going to be released anyway because they are privileged.\n

\n5 hours x 60 minutes \/ 60 meetings = 5 minutes per meeting conversion.\n

\nOpen file, save file as, next file: that takes five minutes?\nWhat kind of computer are they using, one from the beginning of time?\n

\nOr perhaps they were redacting as they converted?\n

\nHow about seeing the signed copies?\nDo they have signed copies?\nThe County Commission does, the ZBOA does.\n

\nThe meeting minutes are not available from the Authority unless citizens\nfile a formal request.\n<\/blockquote>\nUm, why not?\nAnd of course having it cost prohibitive makes it so that\npoor (or even middle class) people can’t afford to participate.\n

\nThey have a website.\nIt would take about ten minutes to put the PDF of the minutes up there.\nOK, maybe ten hours with their demonstrated level of competence.\nBut then any citizen could see them and nobody would have to spend\nmore time or effort on this.\n

\nWouldn’t it be to the Industrial Authority’s (and the community’s)\nadvantage to have the minutes on the IA web site so that\ncompanies thinking of relocating here could see how many other\ngreat businesses and jobs have been attracted to our exclusive\ncommunity?\n

\nThat VLCIA won’t do this just makes everybody wonder what they have to hide.\n

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