April 19, 2001

Dear Mr. Hausen,

Pursuant to the state open records law, Wis. Stat. sec. 19.31 to 19.39, I make an open records request to the County records authority for the following records produced or collected under the contract entitled "Contract for Economic Development Services", dated February 28, 2001 between Jefferson County and the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC).

As allowed by Wis. Stat. 19.36(3) regarding contractor's records, I can request "any record produced or collected under a contract entered into by the authority with a person other than an authority to the same extent as if the record were maintained by the authority."

In general, I request records produced or collected during this first quarter of the contract period, from January 1, 2001 until the present day. "Records" is used here as per the definition in Wis. Stat. 19.32(2), which would include letters, memos, faxes, receipts, bills, e-mails, etc.

I request any records collected or produced under the contract section titled "Organizational Development Activities," especially including

I request any records collected or produced under the contract section titled "Business Retention Activities," especially including

I request any records collected or produced under the contract section "Business Attraction Activities and Small Business Assistance," especially including

I request any records collected or produced under the contract section "Workforce Development Activities," especially including:

I request any records collected or produced under the contract section "Community Development Activities," especially including

Beyond the items specifically described in the contract, I imagine there are other records that were produced or collected in the pursuit of fulfillment of the contract.

For example, I think it's reasonable to request the agendas and minutes of the meetings of the JCEDC for January through April 2001. I'd like to know if audio tape recordings of its meetings exist. These meeting records were produced in pursuit of the contract and are substantially related to the many broad descriptions of economic development services described in the contract. They would provide a summary view of the actual activities performed by the JCEDC in pursuit of the contract, as reported to its Board.

I'd also like to inspect any time records showing how long the JCEDC Executive Director and assistants worked on the contracted tasks. Hourly time records must be kept for all employees, salaried or not, by all Wisconsin employers in compliance with section 272.11 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code of the Department of Workforce Development.

I'd also like to inspect the long-distance telephone bill records of the JCEDC. These records were produced as a result of pursuit of the contract. They substantially relate to the solicitation of businesses from outside the County, and would serve to confirm or deny whether the many related items of the contract are being fulfilled.

I'd like to see the budget of the JCEDC for this quarter, and the projected budget for 2001, the term of this contract. This would show the costs related to the fulfillment of these contracted items.

I prefer records in electronic form, which can be e-mailed as attachments of any size to the e-mail address "jfoust@threedee.com". If any records are only available in paper form, I would like to know the cost of making a copy of these documents. If the total cost will exceed $5, I would like an itemized breakdown of the records, the form they are in (electronic, paper-only, tape, etc.), and their cost of reproduction, as allowed by law.

Barring that, I assume all these records are available for public inspection without cost. I'd like to know where and when they can be viewed. Also, I'd like to know where I can inspect the most current electronic databases using a computer, as allowed by Wis. Stat. 19.35(2), "with facilities comparable to those used by its employees to inspect, copy and abstract the record."

As demanded by Wisconsin's open records law, I will expect your response as soon as practicable and without delay.

I agree to pay any reasonable copying fees of not more than $5. If the cost would be greater than this amount, please notify me. Please provide a receipt indicating the charges for each available document.

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemptions upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.

Sincerely,