General District Court Judge Marcus Brinks is giving the county two more weeks to comply with his order to provide information requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
It also was determined that County Administrator Tom Rose had been ordered to pay $56 in court costs in connection with Brinks’ April 11 ruling in the case.
Russell W. “Bill” Moore alleged in his April 4 filing that Patrick County failed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and that Rose, in his capacity as county manager, “has denied or caused to be denied my rights to public records within five days of the receipt of a FOIA request.”
During testimony and discussion during the administrative hearing Tuesday, Brinks directed that Moore’s multiple requests be addressed per item.
For example, in the first item, “this is what we have” in documentation, Brinks said. If there is additional information on the county’s website, for example, that could be included to direct Moore to the information he is seeking.
If the county does not have the information in question, Brinks said that should be stated as well.
Rose was the only person to testify during the 90-minute hearing. He was represented by County Attorney Allen Black.
Moore represented himself in the filing that alleged he received no response to “multiple requests for public records” regarding the 2016 Patrick County Audit.
The court will take up the issue again in two weeks, tentatively on May 8.
