Kirkland, Washington
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[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of Washington city websites
Last rated March 9, 2012
[edit] The good
- Contact information is available for elected and administrative officials.<ref.Council</ref>[1]
- Meeting minutes and agendas posted.[2][3]
- Public records request is posted.[4]
- Building permits and zoning information available.[5][6]
- Budgets are available.[7]
[edit] The bad
- No information regarding audits, contracts, lobbying, or local taxes.
[edit] Kirkland violation of public records law
In preparing to file a public records request with the City of Kirkland, Evergreen Freedom Foundation journalist Scott St. Clair, himself a former resident of Kirkland, became suspicious when he read some of the questions on the city's public records access request form. The questions asked what was the requestor's interest in the public records, and what did the requestor plan to do with the information.
Qualifying the questions was language that purported to make answering them optional, but then went on to say that failure to answer them could change the way the city responded to the request.
Believing that it's none of the city's business why someone wants public records access or what they intend to do with the information (so long as it's not used for a commercial purpose), and upon advice of EFF's general counsel, St. Clair contacted the Washington State Attorney General's Public Records Ombudsman, Tim Ford, who confirmed his suspicions. Ford said he would write to the city directing it to bring its form into compliance with state law.[8]
[edit] Personal emailing on city account
City Council member Bob Sternoff is under investigation after being accused of sending racy messages from his city e-mail account and admitting to the accusations.[9]
After some of his e-mails were made public Sternoff apologized at a city council meeting.
"The use of my city e-mail as it was used in this case was inappropriate. I apologize for that and the embarrassment that my actions have caused myself and the ones I love," he said.
Evergreen Freedom Foundation uncovered thousands of pages of Sternoff's e-mail, paid for by the city. Evergreen Freedom Foundation's Scott St. Clair made a Freedom of Information Act request for city council e-mails, which are public record. Later, St. Clair said Sternoff called him to say some of his e-mails might be embarrassing.
"I had no clue what I would find until it actually showed up," said St. Clair. "The conversation goes on to talk about the Kirkland citizen, her work and her sexual preference."
These e-mails were sent while the city council was in session and, according to the time stamps, at times when city council meetings and study sessions were being held.
"The time spent creating them was time not spent conducting the public's business or paying attention," St. Clair said. "My interest isn't in him, per se. It's in watch-dogging for the public to find out what's happening on their time with their public resources."
After a 4-to-3 vote, the Kirkland City Council voted to hire a counsel to investigate the e-mails.[9]
