BREAKING NEWS! – Multiple Citizens File Suit For Open Records

Allegations of "Ranking System" to determine which Commissioners are "supportive" and privy to Chamber information.

A group of citizens has filed a complaint in Chancery Court seeking a declaration that the Jefferson County Economic Development Oversight Committee (EDOC) is subject to the requirements of the Open Meetings Act and the Public Records Act. The Complaint was filed on Thursday, October 24, 2013, in Jefferson County and names the members of the EDOC, both individually and as members of the organization, the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson County Mayor Palmieri, and all Jefferson County Commissioners as defendants. Fourteen citizens, residents and taxpayers of Jefferson County, from various districts, are the plaintiffs in the complaint, which alleges that they have been repeatedly denied access to meetings and records for EDOC, though the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and EDOC share employees and physical space, as well as both being recipients of public funding, which would, according to the complaint, subject the organization to the Open Meetings and Open Records Act. The Complaint does not request any compensatory damages.

The Complaint outlines the relationship between the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and EDOC and contends that EDOC is, in essence, an arm of the Chamber of Commerce and has attempted to bind the County government to contracts that they negotiated outside of the Open Meetings Act and acted with the authority of a government decision making body. It further alleges that the Chamber of Commerce worked with one or more official of the Jefferson County government to provide a ranking of County Commissioners as friendly or supportive of the Chamber and its goals, assigning each Commissioner with a score of 1-3 and disseminated information to those Commissioners based on that score. The Hurley Law Firm is representing the plaintiffs. Representation for the defendants is currently unclear.

Look for more information on the complaint and the involved parties on Monday morning, when The Post will have a follow up story on this issue.