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Chattahoochee County chair flags possible misuse of nondisclosure; urges records review
Summary
Chairman Charles Coffey told commissioners at a March 25 work session that nondisclosure exceptions are being used improperly to hide records on Q‑Public; he urged the county to follow Georgia open‑records law and review which items are withheld. No formal policy vote was taken.
Chairman Charles Coffey raised concerns at the March 25 work session that nondisclosure exceptions are being applied too broadly to withhold records from the public‑records portal (Q‑Public) and urged the county to ensure compliance with state open‑records law.
"There is no reason he should not have it public on Q‑Public," Coffey said, using his own property filings as an example of records that should be publicly available. He acknowledged legitimate exceptions—such as narrow law‑enforcement or privacy protections—but said the county needs to correct current practice where records that should be public are not being made available.
Coffey said he had circulated guidance at a previous meeting about the legal standards for public records and suggested the board review it and adjust county procedures. The discussion was presented as direction rather than a formal motion; commissioners did not vote on a policy change at the work session.
County Manager Thomas Weaver and staff were asked to review current disclosure practices and coordinate with the county attorney on any necessary process or policy updates. The board did not set a timeline for a formal policy change during the March 25 meeting.
Next steps: staff will consult with the county attorney to review Q‑Public practices and the board will be updated; any changes to a nondisclosure or public‑records policy would require a future action by the commission.
