In case you missed it, the use of private e-mail has Hillary Clinton kind of jammed up lately.
With all the interest in the subversion of laws governing transparency and open government, you would think all government officials would be a bit more careful, but You would be wrong.
From the “You just can’t make this up” department.
A recent review of the detailed agenda of the Commissioners’ Court, there was a request for approval for two Sheriff’s Office employees to attend training in the Texas Public Information Act:
Given the recent visibility related to transparency, probably a good thing. It could be a coincidence or it could be that the company offering the training seized upon an opportunity. The unbelievable irony of this request is that the Lt., a former records supervisor, used her personal e-mail address in correspondence setting up the training. The office of the County Judge usually does a better job of obscuring the public record. (Judge Video)
The county employs an attorney as “counsel to the court” and they run a few requests by him. The attorney general provides a toll free hotline for questions about public information. I was recently told requests for information had to be run by a private attorney who bills the county around a $250,000.00 a year for services of the firm. Causes one to wonder why taxpayers are sending two people to a day and a half training at a pretty high price. One is the records supervisor and the other is the training Sgt. I’m guessing if their supervisor is stupid enough to use a private e-mail account for public business, a day and a half class ain’t gonna cure the problem.
Consider further the Sheriff was recently raked over the proverbial coals for an overcharge complaint. (Previous Story) and currently has a complaint pending before the District Attorney for knowingly withholding public information (Previous Story) and the outlook does nothing to support optimism.