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Weimar announced the city will publish all results from open records requests to the public online for all to view, Friday, Dec. 19.
Open records requests will be available online via the city’s Google Drive file system. As of Dec. 29, three requests have been published for viewing. The announcement on Facebook said the new policy intends to promote transparency, accountability and information accessibility. Mayor Carlton Tucker said the city seeks to act on behalf of Weimar citizens.
“It’s our desire that through this open records request policy, the citizens will be able to see what information it is that the citizens are seeking,” Tucker said. “And then from that, once it’s provided, be able to make up their own decision about what was the purpose and what they could glean from it.”
Tucker said the initiative developed out of conversations between Weimar City Council and city staff. Tucker reported that the city has recently experienced an increase in open records requests.
“I don’t think there can ever be too much trust, so anything that can be done to help our citizens have faith in what is being sought, what’s being provided, is in their best interest, and that our only desire is to act on their behalf,” Tucker said.
The three published open records requests are text messages between former Weimar Police Chief David Socha and Weimar PD Administrative Assistant and Public Information Officer Lauren Dahse, detailed text and call logs from Socha’s and all Weimar police officer issued cell phones, and Dahse’s Texas Open Meetings Act training certificates. Currently, only the first request has been fulfilled.
The two most recent open records requests were submitted by John Harrington, the operator of the “Corruption Watch – Texas” Facebook page. Harrington has frequently posted about filing open records requests to Weimar and other government agencies for months.
“I just want to make sure that things are being done properly. The people deserve that,” Harrington said. “…I think it’s important for the officials and quote unquote leaders of Weimar to know that there are laws. You don’t live in your own little vacuum where you can do whatever you want. Other people are affected by the things that you do.”
Harrington also recently uncovered unresolved criminal charges against former City Manager Donald Dixson from 1994 in Pennsylvania. After tipping off the Colorado County Sheriff’s Office, Weimar City Council held an emergency session and promptly accepted the resignation of Dixson on Nov. 17.
“[Regaining trust] is probably the most important effort that faces the leadership of the community right now,” Tucker said in an interview on Nov. 21.
To submit a request, a Request for Records form is available in Weimar’s Open Records Google Drive. Requests should be submitted to the City Secretary Office either in person or via email to mfranco@ weimartx.gov.
Open records requests fall underneath the Texas Public Information Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 552. The law provides citizens with the right to request without reason to prompt access to government records that are not confidential by law or judicial decision.
Government bodies must respond to an open records request within 10 business days by fulfilling the request, providing an estimated timeline if the records cannot be produced within the timeframe or requesting an exception or redaction from the Office of the Attorney General.
Governmental bodies also have the right to charge a fee for the request, but a requestor also has the right to ask for the fee to be waived or reduced if the information benefits the general public.
