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Resident presses town for native-format records; attorney cites Office of Open Records Council guidance
Summary
Resident Kimberly Parks asked the board to require original-format delivery of requested emails and video; the town attorney replied that state guidance allows custodians to provide secure, non-manipulable formats (PDF) and said staff must be shown evidence if records were altered.
During citizen comment at the Nov. 13 meeting resident Kimberly Parks asked the board to require production of open records in their native formats (for example, MSG email files), saying staff had provided only PDFs and she could not match attachments or filenames and that some video requests were rejected.
Parks said, "I have a mess of open records because he's refusing to give them to me in the MSG file," and asked the board to ensure records are produced in a form she can review. Town administrative staff and the town attorney responded: the town provides requested documents electronically where feasible but follows Office of Open Records Council best practices that recommend secure formats; an attorney said a custodian is not required to provide records in a format that can be manipulated and that PDFs are an acceptable secure format.
The attorney urged Parks to present substantiating evidence if she believes records have been altered, saying staff should be given the chance to investigate specific claims. Parks and the attorney exchanged heated comments during the public segment; staff said they will continue to work with her on outstanding records requests.
Key legal point: the town cited Office of Open Records Council guidance (Tennessee Code Annotated) that recommends secure electronic production and notes custodians are not required to provide records in manipulable formats. The board did not adopt any new policy at the meeting and directed staff to continue processing outstanding requests and to consult open-records guidance as needed.
The town administrator confirmed staff would continue working with Parks to locate responsive records and clarified application counts for two recent recruitments (45 applicants for the finance position and 92 for the recorder position).
