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Resident urges investigation after open-records response on fire-department logs
Summary
Joe Kurtzinger told the commissioners he received an incomplete response to an open-records request for fire-department maintenance bills, run logs and hydrant inspections and urged stronger oversight and an investigation into record-keeping practices.
At the May 7 meeting, resident Joe Kurtzinger addressed the Board during citizen comments about a recent open-records request he filed for multiple fire-department records. Kurtzinger said the town returned an estimate of labor to compile the materials and that the documents provided did not answer the items he requested.
"I performed an open records request... I received back, first of all, a labor estimate, required to complete this record for a total time of about 6 hours at a cost of $260 to me," Kurtzinger said, and he said some data exists across multiple systems and would require retrieval and compilation. He urged the board to investigate why maintenance logs and run records were not readily available and called for stronger oversight of how public funds are spent.
The mayor thanked him for the comment; the Board did not take formal action during the meeting on the request. Kurtzinger said the missing records are required by state law and that the absence raises concerns about oversight and accountability.
