Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Open Government Public Records topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents criticize city response to public-records requests and use of nondisclosure agreements in police hiring
Summary
Public commenters at the June 18 St. Helens council meeting said the city is slow to respond to public-records requests and questioned nondisclosure agreements tied to the police‑chief hiring process; council did not take immediate action on those concerns during the meeting.
Multiple residents used the visitor‑comment period at the June 18 St. Helens City Council meeting to raise concerns about the city's handling of public-records requests and the hiring process for the new police chief.
Tammy Magra told the council that some public-records requests have gone unanswered for “a year and a half” and said the city should provide requested records more quickly. Brady Preheim asked why candidates for police chief were being asked to sign nondisclosure agreements and said the city had not complied with a 10-day public-records timeline for certain scoring sheets tied to the hire.
Why it matters: Public-records responsiveness and hiring transparency affect public trust in local government. Complainants asked the council to provide clearer timelines and explanations for the records backlog and the use of nondisclosure agreements in candidate interviews.
What the commenters said: Brady Preheim told the council he is “concerned about the nondisclosure agreement that was orchestrated by your city attorney regarding the chief of police and the pending public records request for those scoring sheets, which you haven't responded within the 10 days that's required.” Tammy Magra said the backlog of unfilled public-records requests was “pretty lame” and implied the delay suggested the city did not want to provide records.
Council response and next steps: The transcript records the public comments and the mayor’s invitation for online commenters; the meeting record does not show an immediate council action or vote to change public-records processing or to review the nondisclosure practice during the session. The city administrator and city attorney were noted in the meeting as taking notes and responsible for follow-up; the mayor said responses to visitor comments, if needed, would be published in a subsequent work-session packet after city‑attorney review.
Taper: Residents requested clearer, timelier records responses and asked for transparency about hiring paperwork; council directed that responses to visitor comments be compiled and published after legal review.
