Legislative committee backs sending county public-records policy to full commission

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners Legislative Committee voted June 8 to send a resolution to the full commission recommending adoption of the Office of Open Records Counsel (OORC) model public records policy required by recent Tennessee law.

The policy, prepared to comply with Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(g) and the OORC model called for under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-4-604(a)(4), spells out duties for records custodians and a Public Records Request Coordinator (PRRC), procedures for inspection and copying, a schedule of fees, and rules for redaction and segmented production. Commissioner Chuck Stines moved to forward the resolution; Commissioner Dave Van Buskirk seconded, and the motion carried with all members present voting aye.

Under the draft policy, public records are presumed open under the Tennessee Public Records Act, and county personnel must provide timely assistance to requestors. The policy designates the County Mayor's office as the Public Records Request Coordinator and requires that the policy be available for inspection in the County Mayor’s office and reviewed every two years. It also requires that, when production cannot be completed promptly, a records custodian respond with the OORC response form within seven business days.

Key administrative provisions include a requirement (as placed in the draft) that requestors provide proof of Tennessee citizenship for access to copies, that inspection-only requests may be made orally, and that requests for copies use a county form submitted to the County Mayor's office. The policy sets copy fees at $0.15 per black-and-white page and $0.50 per color page, allows charging for labor when processing exceeds three hours, and requires itemized estimates and prepayment when charges exceed $50. Citizens of Franklin County would not be charged for copies unless costs exceed $25.

The committee did not itself adopt the policy; it voted to send the resolution and attached policy language to the full County Commission for final action at its June 19, 2017 session. The committee meeting was chaired by Chairman Johnny Hughes and included Commissioners Chuck Stines, Eddie Clark and Dave Van Buskirk.

The policy text reviewed by the committee includes a Public Records Request Form and a Public Records Request Response Form based on OORC templates, instructions on redaction with a requirement to provide a general basis for any redaction, and an aggregation rule for frequent or multiple requestors (more than four requests in a calendar month).