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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

HaysCAN says Barton is in violation of Public Information Act


"The Public Information Act . . . has no real sanctions, just public embarrassment, if you can be embarrassed. That's the sad part about it. The strongest aspect of the PIA is that it gives the public access to behind-the-scenes activity by public officials . . . "

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Pct. 2 Commissioner Barton
(D-Mountain City, Buda, Kyle)

Compiled by Bob Ochoa
RoundUp Editor

This just in:
The Hays Community Action Network (HaysCAN) and its president Charles O'Dell have filed a formal complaint against Precinct 2 County Commissioner Jeff Barton, claiming that Barton is violating the Public Information Act.

In a letter dated July 27 to county special counsel Mark Kennedy, O'Dell asserts Barton "used his cellular telephone for conducting Hays County business, and Barton was reimbursed for the amount that he submitted, yet Barton failed to provide a copy of those telephone records in response to our Public Information request."

UPDATES:

Friday, July 31 –
Mr. O'Dell, in a letter dated today, has now made an open records request directly to the office of Special Council, Mr. Kennedy (and staff), for "all forms of correspondence conveyed to or received from Commissioners Barton and Conley regarding our 2/29/08 PIR referenced above. Time period is 2/29/08 through the date of this Public Information Request."
Thursday, July 30 – Commissioner Barton returned our call for a comment this afternoon. See his comments below.
Wednesday, July 29 – We put in a call to Commissioner Barton's office this morning for a comment from the commissioner. So far no call back. Fyi, his office number is 512.262.2091 in case any of you alert citizens & taxpayers out there care to give him a shout. Here's his e-mail address: jeff.barton@co.hays.tx.us
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Commissioner Barton: "I glanced at the story (this story in the RoundUp) and was waiting to get a copy of Charles' letter which I got a few minutes ago. I don't quite understand the complaint, to be honest. If I understand it, he's wanting the phone calls of my son and daughter and wife (Barton uses a cell phone with a family plan). . .

"I don't answer open records requests. That happens through the legal counsel's office. We want somebody who is nonprejudicial. We want a reasonably objective party answering open records requests, somebody who really knows and understands the law.


"I don't know exactly what Dr. O'Dell got (from the original open records request) because I didn't prepare it or give it to him. What I presume he got was every phone call I made on county business . . . I asked to be reimbursed for phone calls I made (from) my cell for county business and my understanding is he received all those phone calls.


" . . . It's my choice what a personal or county business call is. Hays County is only paying for those calls that are clearly expressly county business calls . . .

"It was the special counsel's office (that handled O'Dell's public information request) and to the best of my recollection I was not involved at all. I mean they told me about it in a sort of passing conversation."

Asked if he is still requesting reimbursement from county taxpayers for use of his cell phone to conduct official county business, Barton said, "No, I am not."

We failed to ask the commissioner when he decided to quit asking for reimbursements, and who in the county instructed him on the proper procedure for certifying the reimbursements.


Here are special counsel Mr. Kennedy's comments. He said he was in receipt of HaysCAN's complaint. His e-mail address is mark.kennedy@co.hays.tx.us

"Normally the AG's office receives the complaint and tries to sort through the details with my office. In this case, Charles appears to have sent the complaint to me and copied the AG's (Attorney General's) office. I have called the AG's office and have not gotten a call back yet . . . I only contacted them and left a message saying I'm calling regarding this complaint and left my number.

"I'm not going to comment on it, on the substance of the complaint, until I've ascertained how to proceed by working with the AG's office on this.

"There are numerous nuances to the way the act (Texas Public Information Act) operates. (The "Act" is part of the Texas Government Code, Chapter 552). I can say that we do our very very best, earnestly do our very best, to meet every letter of the act and make sure the information gets out to the requesters.

" . . . Under the act we are not allowed to ask what the requester wants the information for. Oftentimes we just process it and make sure it doesn't have nondisclosable information.

" . . . I think normally the AG would issue a finding (and contact the complainant) at least by phone call . . . the AG is a check and balance for every county, every local government in the state in terms of public information and how that information is processed . . . that is why we get them involved . . . if it's a request, there's a timeframe; the AG's office is going to drive it."

HaysCAN and O'Dell (codell@austin.rr.com) have asked for Barton's cell phone records for a six month period, from December of '06 to June of '07, Barton's first six months in office. Included is a short period before Barton's official swearing in, for which O'Dell says Barton requested reimbursement from the county.

Here's what Mr. O'Dell had to say:
"The point I want to get across is that I expect public officials to obey the law, all the laws, not just the ones they want to. Barton's efforts to side step (HaysCAN's original public information request) actually provided evidence that what he refused to give us was in fact in the public domain. We continue to ask for those records and expect to receive them.

" . . . He (Barton) gave us one page out of a 41-page phone bill in which it had 29 of his wife's phone calls of the 108 that she made. I was looking to see who he's talking to. He obviously has some calls to and from folks he doesn't want us to know about. What is it about his official phone calls using his cell phone that he doesn't want the public to know about?

"The reason I asked for these first six months of his term is because this is what he had come back with showing he (was) reimbursed for the use of his cell phone and he admits it was for use of official county business and therefore the county government has a right to them and we have a right to them, the public, because taxpayer money was used to pay for a portion of the bill . . .

"HaysCAN is a nonprofit tax exempt organization founded in July 2003. We have wide support in Central Texas. We are members (one of 45 members) of the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, an organization headquartered in San Antonio. Our source of funding has been grants, fund raisers and donations from the public. We have been asked for our membership list, the City of Drippings Springs tried it, Barton has tried it. We maintain our constitutional right of not disclosing for fear of retaliation against our supporters.

"The Public Information Act . . . has no real sanctions, just public embarrassment, if you can be embarrassed. That's the sad part about it. The strongest aspect of the PIA is that it gives the public access to behind-the-scenes activity by public officials. To the extent they are unwilling to break the law, they will just give us the information."

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

How many people are really in the "HaysCAN"? That is the biggest sham in town. Just by way of reading this blurp, anyone can tell that this blog is really O'Dell's shill.

Anonymous said...

This one seems pretty straight forward to me. If Barton is charging the county ---- strike that ---- if Barton is charging you and me (the tax payers)for his phone calls, then we get to see who he's calling. Barton probably doesn't like that. He probably thinks that he's special. Sorry Mr. Barton. We're actually more important than you are.

Anonymous said...

I thought everybody already knew that ;)

Anonymous said...

What would you expect from Bullcorn guy? This is his strongest suit as a public official. I betcha he tries to stir up a bunch of Bullcorn distractions.

But keep your eyes focused on the subdivision rules coming next week and on the court members posturing and public statements on the new county budget and possible tax increase.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to read Mark Kennedy's analysis of the situation. I'm not certain that he would know objectivity if it hit him in the face. He will bend over backwards to save Barton's hide. When Kennedy finally issues some opinion or finding, be sure to read carefully. It will be a volcano of double-talk. That's what he majored in ---- double-talk. I know --- you thought he had a law degree. Not so. His degree is in double-talk.

Anonymous said...

I've heard a lot of things about the Bartons, the old man and junior. Giving them more rope to spread their grip to the west side of the county will hang us all. My sources are telling me Barton and Conley are in cahoots to bring down Karen Ford, a good Democrat, in precinct 4.

Anonymous said...

If you want to watch government grind on to interminable lengths, just take a seat in commissioners court when it is in session. When Barton decides to talk, you might as well take a snooze. He goes on and on and on. It is as though he just wants to hear himself talk. He can easily go for 30 to 45 minutes. Worse yet, he murders the English language in the process. It isn't a very impressive show on the part of a public official. Now that I think about it, Conley is sort of cut from the same cloth. Both of the boys are given to very long-winded speeches, punctuated by grammatical goofs. I shudder to think what it must be like when the boys try to lure economic development interests to the county. Why am I thinking of Gomer Pyle?

Anonymous said...

I don't know if Ford is a Democrat or not but she's been a breath of fresh air in a court house that historically made my skin crawl.

She seems to have good instincts and she seems to always think about her constituents. I know that's not the Hays County way, but I think Ford was elected to maybe bring about some change. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Barton and Conley wanted to see her go.

Anonymous said...

What I don't understand is this: If Barton is such a turncoat Democrat, why is he continually re-elected? What does that say about the Hays County Democrats? The way I see it, Democrats voting for a Democrat just because he or she is running as a Democrat is the same as Republicans voting for any Republican. To quote our President: "they acted stupidly." Just another example of our retarded two party "duopoly."

Anonymous said...

Is law enforcement watching these guys, maybe listening in on their phone conversations?

Anonymous said...

Barton continually re-elected? Let's see. Carter beat him, though I don't know when that happened. Barton eventually came back a few years later (in 2006) and beat Carter. So yes. He's back in office. It's not that he's stayed in office as a result of continuious re-election. It is just that he's back, sort of like a bad penny that keeps turning up.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 7: How true! When Barton starts talking you can hear the chorus of sighs and grumblings throughout the citizens in attendance. I cannot tell you the number of times I have had to stop myself from screaming out...PLEASE MAKE HIM STOP! Perhaps, Barton should look at the citizens as he drones on and on and on as we are constantly signaling him via eye-rolls, squirming in our seats and oftentimes, without much success, suppressing our chuckles. He is clueless!

Yougotmooned said...

A poll...(some blogs have interactive polls-hint hint)

Commissioner Barton aka "Bullcorn" is:

a) Self-effacing
b) Full of himself
c) A brilliant rhetoritician (for you eternal optimists)
d) A danger to current residents and taxpayers

Anonymous said...

I stumbled across this blog after repeatedly hearing of Mr. O'Dell's attacks on county officials. I do not always agree with the decisions of the Court but I have never once considered the individual commissioners to be dishonorable people nor have I seen any credible evidence to support the variety of corruption allegations made by Mr. O'Dell. A policy disagreement does not always translate into the fact that anyone opposing your viewpoint is corrupt, a liar, or the son of satan. These types of attacks in a small community discourage honorable citizens from seeking public office. I share some of the concerns of Mr. O'Dell but I do not condone his tactics. It is easy to tear down a community and cause infighting by making inflamatory allegations. That accomplishes nothing. It is much more difficult to build up a community because it requires competing viewpoints to come together and work for the greater good. Compromise is the keystone to any democracy. Rather than being consumed by anger and hate someone who has the best interest of the community in mind should reach out to the other side, express their positions and figure out a way to work together. Anger accomplishes little. Diplomacy and honor (which are quickly going extinct in our world) are the keys to progress. We have elected officials who serve because they are willing take on job in which they know that there is no possible way to make everyone happy. Since we are unwilling to run ourselves we should at least have the courtesy, honor, and integrity to avoid berating them, calling them childish names, and impugn their integrity simply because we may disagree with their policy decisions. I hope (but do not expect) that at some point in the future Mr. O'Dell's anger will cease to exist and he will instead work with our elected officials to achieve a greater community for us to live in.

Anonymous said...

I know Mr. O'Dell. He is not an angry man. But I know some folks are pretty angry with him because he simply works hard to hold our public elected officials accountable for their many questionable actions. Isn't that the job of a government watchdog? Name me one other person or organization in Hays County that is doing this with the persistence and focus of Mr. O'Dell. Btw, he is also a certified master naturalist and in his spare time does work to protect our environment.

Anonymous said...

The post above, that starts with, “I stumbled across this blog” is undoubtedly the best one I have seen in regards to Mr. O’Dell’s writings, tactics and actions. It was very wise and thoughtful. Good advice for us all. I have copied and pasted it to a Word document on my desktop and will refer to it from time to time to check my own tactics and actions.