Councilman Hackworth,
If you are looking for reasons that your survey indicates that the public does not trust city council, perhaps here is yet another reason why.
Pickerington clarifies which e-mails to save
Council members have argued about sharing of messages
By Kirk D . Richards THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
When people make publicinformation requests to Pickerington seeking e-mails between officials, they cannot be sure they are receiving everything.
Some e-mail messages are not automatically saved.
It appears to be a defect in the system that occurs primarily when a council member forwards a message through a city account.
Councilman Michael Sabatino says that enables some of his colleagues to engage in discussions behind the scenes without any review.
He has made public-information requests for some e-mails that four council members have sent to one another but not to him, Ted Hackworth or Council President Brian Wisniewski.
The issue came to a head in August when Sabatino, Hackworth and Wisniewski found out that Councilman Jeff Fix negotiated an economic agreement with Violet Township on his own. The other three council members ?— Cristie Hammond, Heidi Riggs and Keith Smith ?— had been kept in the loop through e-mail.
In that instance, however, all four used personal e-mail accounts, and Sabatino obtained 55 e-mails from Fix after complaining about not being included.
Fix said it?’s not his responsibility to copy every council member on every issue.
''Perhaps if he acted more professionally, we?’d keep him more in the loop,'' Fix said of Sabatino. ''I keep all my records, and all anybody has to do is ask.''
City Manager Judy Gilleland says that council members will be relied upon to retain their e-mails and provide them to the public when requested. She said the city is looking at installing an updated system but that it could cost up to $10,000 a year to maintain.
Officials in other suburbs say they have not faced this issue.
The more common complaint in Bexley comes from citizens who say they sent e-mails that no one responded to because the messages were blocked. Sometimes it?’s the officials who say they were expecting an e-mail they had not seen.
Even blocked e-mails are saved in Bexley.
''We quarantine them,'' said Bill Minckler, technology director for Bexley. The blocked e-mails can be accessed and released if Minckler deems them safe.
If the issue were to arise in Hilliard, Law Director Pam DeDent said she would advise council members to retain the e-mails.
''Everybody?’s system is different,'' DeDent said. ''They?’re not always 100 percent reliable.''
Pickerington Law Director Phil Hartmann prepared a memorandum on the city?’s e-mail retention policy.
E-mails pertaining to policies, departmental procedures and fiscal and personnel matters should be retained permanently. Other business e-mails should be kept for one to two years, the memo said.
Personal e-mails such as ''Let?’s do lunch'' and transitory e-mails such as phone messages do not have to be maintained long-term, the memo said.
Wisniewski said the e-mail issue needs to be addressed mostly ''as a matter of perception.''
''You?’re basically allowing council members to decide whether any e-mail is really a public record,'' Wisniewski said. ''It?’s a trust issue as to whether council members are giving them all up.''
He said the city should pay whatever it costs to ensure that a record of all city e-mails can be retrieved by staff members to respond to information requests.
''It comes down to what cost do you put on public trust,'' Wisniewski said.
krichards@dispatch.com
If you are looking for reasons that your survey indicates that the public does not trust city council, perhaps here is yet another reason why.
Pickerington clarifies which e-mails to save
Council members have argued about sharing of messages
By Kirk D . Richards THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
When people make publicinformation requests to Pickerington seeking e-mails between officials, they cannot be sure they are receiving everything.
Some e-mail messages are not automatically saved.
It appears to be a defect in the system that occurs primarily when a council member forwards a message through a city account.
Councilman Michael Sabatino says that enables some of his colleagues to engage in discussions behind the scenes without any review.
He has made public-information requests for some e-mails that four council members have sent to one another but not to him, Ted Hackworth or Council President Brian Wisniewski.
The issue came to a head in August when Sabatino, Hackworth and Wisniewski found out that Councilman Jeff Fix negotiated an economic agreement with Violet Township on his own. The other three council members ?— Cristie Hammond, Heidi Riggs and Keith Smith ?— had been kept in the loop through e-mail.
In that instance, however, all four used personal e-mail accounts, and Sabatino obtained 55 e-mails from Fix after complaining about not being included.
Fix said it?’s not his responsibility to copy every council member on every issue.
''Perhaps if he acted more professionally, we?’d keep him more in the loop,'' Fix said of Sabatino. ''I keep all my records, and all anybody has to do is ask.''
City Manager Judy Gilleland says that council members will be relied upon to retain their e-mails and provide them to the public when requested. She said the city is looking at installing an updated system but that it could cost up to $10,000 a year to maintain.
Officials in other suburbs say they have not faced this issue.
The more common complaint in Bexley comes from citizens who say they sent e-mails that no one responded to because the messages were blocked. Sometimes it?’s the officials who say they were expecting an e-mail they had not seen.
Even blocked e-mails are saved in Bexley.
''We quarantine them,'' said Bill Minckler, technology director for Bexley. The blocked e-mails can be accessed and released if Minckler deems them safe.
If the issue were to arise in Hilliard, Law Director Pam DeDent said she would advise council members to retain the e-mails.
''Everybody?’s system is different,'' DeDent said. ''They?’re not always 100 percent reliable.''
Pickerington Law Director Phil Hartmann prepared a memorandum on the city?’s e-mail retention policy.
E-mails pertaining to policies, departmental procedures and fiscal and personnel matters should be retained permanently. Other business e-mails should be kept for one to two years, the memo said.
Personal e-mails such as ''Let?’s do lunch'' and transitory e-mails such as phone messages do not have to be maintained long-term, the memo said.
Wisniewski said the e-mail issue needs to be addressed mostly ''as a matter of perception.''
''You?’re basically allowing council members to decide whether any e-mail is really a public record,'' Wisniewski said. ''It?’s a trust issue as to whether council members are giving them all up.''
He said the city should pay whatever it costs to ensure that a record of all city e-mails can be retrieved by staff members to respond to information requests.
''It comes down to what cost do you put on public trust,'' Wisniewski said.
krichards@dispatch.com