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Montgomery council authorizes removing certain agenda/supporting documents from public website to curb fraud
Summary
In response to rising cyberfraud, council authorized staff to remove supporting documents from the city's website and require requests for full packets to be made through formal records requests, while keeping agendas and minutes accessible. Police and staff said scammers have used packet details to send fake invoices.
Montgomery — The Montgomery City Council voted Nov. 10 to authorize staff to remove certain supporting documents from public posting to reduce data-mining by fraudsters.
Council members described an uptick in scams aimed at local builders and residents that used detailed agenda-packet information to create convincing fake bills. The police chief said the city has an officer experienced in these investigations and that removing sensitive supporting documents online would make large-scale scraping and automated scams harder.
"What we're doing is we're mainly just protecting the city... We've got an officer who is expert in reverse in this stuff here," the police chief said during the discussion, describing investigative resources and the need for safeguards. Staff explained that agendas and minutes would remain publicly viewable and that supporting documents would still be available on request via the city’s public information process.
Council members acknowledged the trade-off for residents, who would need to file a request to receive the full packet, but emphasized protection of bank and contractor details that have been abused in recent scams. Council approved the resolution as presented.
