Jefferson Banner - Opinion
John Foust - JCEDC Refusals

 

Willard Hausen
Jefferson County Administrator
320 South Main Street
Jefferson, WI 53549

January 25, 2002

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 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 the 2001 contract period. "Records" is used here as per the definition in Wis. Stat. 19.32(2), which includes letters, faxes, receipts, bills, e-mails, etc.

Many of these requests are similar to my April 19 request for records. I have tried to make my requests more specific. I would like to renew my requests now that the 2001 contract period has ended, in order to be able to judge which contracted items have been fulfilled by the JCEDC.

In the JCEDC's July 17 letter to you, it says that some of the records I requested had not yet been assembled or completed. To me, this implied that the records would be available at some point. I would like to know if these records have been delivered to the County since then. In that way, this new open records request is quite different from my April request.

I am also disappointed by the vague nature of your September 17 response. It said that the JCEDC refused to deliver many of the items I had requested, so therefore the County could not supply them to me. You did not say what would be done to obtain the records promised in the contract. Without proof of contract completion, how can the County judge whether the contract has been honored?

Why isn't the County concerned about this? It is shocking to me that the County would bother to negotiate a detailed contract, continue to pay the JCEDC for these services, and yet never check if these items were delivered.  If you don't have any records to prove that the contracted services were performed, why does the County continue to pay the JCEDC to ignore the contract?

I certainly hope that if the JCEDC contract is renegotiated or changed, that it will not become less detailed and more vague. Instead, it should be more specific. I am sure you and the County Board will agree that a contract with specific deliverables and proof of service is a more honest approach to spending tax dollars.

Wisconsin's Open Records law requires you to put refusals in writing, with the specific statutory reason for the refusal. Now that the contract for 2001 has been completed, if any of these items are not available, I hope there will be some explanation of why the JCEDC was paid to not produce them.

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

· Item 1 The contract states "Assemble and maintain databases" and goes on to describe fifteen databases or items that the JCEDC promises to summarize for use by the County and its citizens. I request the databases described in item 1, in any electronic format. I believe there is a single Microsoft Access database containing information about employers in the County. It was provided to me in July in printed form, but not electronic form. This is the natural form of this record, and the Open Records law allows electronic records to be requested. I would like it in electronic form. The JCEDC's July 17 letter says "The attached is usually provided in some type of customized report and never provided as an entire data base." However, they provided the entire database to you in printed form. If they'll give you the entire database in printed form, why won't they give it in electronic form as the law requires? It is not confidential information.

· Item 3 The contract states "Provide calendar quarterly and year-end reports to the County Board and Budget Committee." I request to see a copy of the quarterly report for the second and third quarters, and the 2001 year-end report.

· Item 4 The contract states "Provide County Board with copy of Strategic Planning Summary Report annually." I request to see the 2001 strategic planning summary report. Was a new one produced in 2001?

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

· Item 1 The contract states "Visit and survey businesses within Jefferson County." I request any records demonstrating visits to businesses, or surveys of businesses. The JCEDC's July 17 letter says "Does not exist at this time." Does it exist now? If the JCEDC is gathering information in order to fulfill this contracted item, in what ways is this information summarized and made available to businesses?

· Item 2 The contract states "Identify the issues and concerns of employers. Work to identify solutions to problems." I request any records identifying the issues and concerns of area businesses, or the solutions to their problems. Has the JCEDC performed this contract item?

· Item 3 The contract states "Design written survey to identify issues and challenges." I request a copy of this written survey, or its results. The JCEDC's July 17 letter says "Not completed at this time." Does it exist now? I'd like to see the results of the survey.

· Item 8 The contract states "Track labor market conditions in Jefferson County, various sources, State, Center, internet." I request a copy of any records that would show that the JCEDC actually performed this service and how they delivered any useful summary of these conditions that might aid local businesses.

· Item 9 The contract states "Administer and oversee Tourism Council. Schedule monthly meetings, track activities." I request to see any records that would show that the JCEDC has performed this item, such as minutes of meetings, handouts, letters to Tourism Council members, etc. I cannot see how any of this information could be considered confidential.

· Item 10 The contract states "Administer/oversee production of Jefferson County Area Visitor's Guide."

I request to see any records regarding the Visitor's Guide, such as its administration or production costs. Similarly, how could this be sensitive information?

· Item 11 The contract states "Oversee and administer grant for Tourism Webs site. Manage financials for Tourism Council." I request to see any records regarding the Tourism web site.

I would also like to see the financials for the Tourism Council. If the JCEDC contract says they are being paid tax dollars to manage the financials for the Tourism Council, I think it's reasonable for the public to see the results.

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

· Item 1 The contract states "Retain and attract quality businesses to communities through joint marketing efforts with local communities. In the past, communities cooperated on marketing brochures and print ads."

I request to see any records describing these joint marketing efforts. I would like to know if any joint marketing efforts actually took place. I'd like to see any marketing brochures or print ads that were produced during the 2001 contract period.

· Item 2 The contract states "Provide assistance through the production of customized proposals to businesses interested in establishing a location, branch office or expansion." The JCEDC's July 17 letter only says "Proposals are customized." I'd like to see an example of a custom proposal that they produced during 2001.

· Item 3 The contract states "Design and produce countywide marketing materials. (Brochures, maps, workforce statistics, land and building marketing ads)."

The JCEDC's July 17 letter says the Jefferson County Profile brochure is "Currently being updated.

See attached." I'd like to see the updated brochure. The JCEDC's July 17 letter also says "New Statistics

Report - Does not exist at this time." I'd like to see the new statistics report for 2001.

· Item 4 The contract states "Attend trade shows with Forward WI informing companies of the advantage of doing business in Wisconsin and Jefferson County." I request to see any records relating to trade show trips. I'd like to know how many trade shows were visited when, where and how much this cost. I think it's reasonable to ask "how much" in order to judge what proportion of the JCEDC's time and money is spent with Forward Wisconsin.

· Item 7 The contract states "In cooperation with UWEX and Steve Grabow, to develop educational materials/courses Retail Trade Study, Tourism strategic planning sessions, Marketing sessions, Customer service Labor Studies, Wages and Benefits Information Develop Retail Training Program." I request to see any records that would show that these materials and courses were produced in 2001. The JCEDC's July 17 letter says "Reports do not exist at this time."

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

· Item 1 The contract states "Serve on Workforce Development Steering Committee, market education / training services in Center, represent business and industry." I request to see any minutes regarding this committee, and any record that might show that the JCEDC attended these meetings.

· Item 5 The contract states "Meet with lenders to increase their participation in HOME programs within Jefferson County." I request to see any record that these meetings took place.

· Item 6 The contract states "Schedule biannual meetings with cities and villages to update on HOME program." I request to see any record that these meetings took place, and to see any materials that were presented at these meetings.

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

· Item 1 The contract states "Host/sponsor annual breakfast for area real estate brokers to educate on economic development challenges." I request to see any record that might describe this meeting, such as how many brokers attended, and to see any materials that were presented.

· Item 2 The contract states "Presentations ED issues and challenges. (Rotary, Chambers, Town Boards, City Councils, County Board, Project Lead and community groups and business community.)" I request to see any record that shows that any of these economic development presentations took place when and where.

· Item 3 The contract states "Work directly with City Administrator on local project as requested." I request to see any record that might show that these meetings took place.

· Item 4 The contract states "Serve on the Watertown Main Street Program, Economic Restructuring Committee, to share expertise and provide guidance to volunteer group." I request to see any record that might show when the JCEDC attended these meetings, that they shared expertise or guided volunteer groups.

· Item 5 The contract states "Plan training sessions with Chambers to educate local businesses on ways to increase profits." I request to see any record about training sessions, if any took place.

· Item 6 The contract states "Member of Jefferson Rotary, Fort Atkinson Chamber, Watertown Main Street program." I request to see any records that might show that the JCEDC attended these meetings, and on what dates, and any records that might show what sort of assistance the JCEDC lent these groups.

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 the cost of reproduction, as allowed by law.

As demanded by Wisconsin's open records law, I will expect your response as soon as practicable and without delay. If you choose to deny any of these requests, please provide a written explanation for each denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemptions upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.

Sincerely,

John Foust
235 South Main Street
Jefferson, WI 53549
(920) 674-5200