Village attorney urges dedicated public-records position; mayor resists

Council President Dee Hefner opened the Village of North Baltimore's Committee of the Whole meeting on July 1, where Atty. Paul Skaff urged the council to consider creating a dedicated position for public-records requests.

Skaff said he has received multiple records-related emails and commended Village Administrator Mr. Bender for his work handling requests. "It is my opinion that council consider creating a position to handle the public records requests," Skaff said, noting volume and the specialized work involved.

Mayor Aaron Patterson disagreed, saying the Village currently has sufficient staff and that the administration should not hire additional personnel. Patterson said Mr. Bender should limit his records work to about one hour per day.

Council members discussed operational options. The dispatcher supervisor has handled paper requests but is behind on body-camera requests; Chief Lafferty has been processing requests because of confidentiality concerns. Council President Hefner suggested reaching out to front-office staff to identify possible coverage, and Ms. Beaupry asked that two staff members be trained to handle requests.

Council discussed the fee structure for records copies: Eric Sweat asked about costs, and Mr. Bender said requests were free when the requester is the subject of the records; otherwise the charge is $75 per hour up to a $750 cap.

Skaff told the committee there is no strict statutory deadline for completing some records requests but advised the Village consider operational changes to reduce backlog and protect confidentiality. The committee made no formal motion at the meeting; next steps were not set.