Transparency News, 10/24/2018

Wednesday
October 24, 2018

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state & local news stories

During a Tuesday meeting, the Bristol Virginia City Council discussed amending the city’s charter to safeguard against excessive borrowing and to ensure a more transparent process for the removal of a City Council member. The council, which was poised last week to remove one of its members before he resigned, also agreed to changes that would make the entire removal process more transparent. Former Councilman Doug Fleenor was served with a notice of intent to remove him in August, but both sides refused to release a copy of that document or an audio recording that would have served as the city’s evidence against him. Council members reasoned that because the charter currently says a member can opt to have a private hearing, then the city did not have the authority to release it to the public. A judge ultimately ordered the city to release the document, saying the public “absolutely had a right to know.” “I’m asking you all to change the language that once the notice of intent to remove a council member has been delivered to that council member, any and all evidence would be made public at that time, so the public can be aware of what the allegations are,” City Manager Randy Eads said. “I think the city would be better served, and there wouldn’t be a cloud of mystery hanging over the entire process.” All four of the current council members favor the change.
Bristol Herald Courier

During the UVa Student Council general body meeting Tuesday night, University Police Department Chief Tommye Sutton described his plan to improve the relationship between UPD and the student body. The plan includes increasing police transparency, engaging with the students on Grounds and including students in the hiring process for future UPD officers. Abigail Heher, a third-year College student and the chair of the Sustainability Committee, asked whether Sutton had any data on the education backgrounds of current UPD officers.  Sutton responded that the department will soon be releasing a transparency report on the UPD website with information on the race and gender of all UPD supervisors, as well as their education backgrounds.  The website will also be updated to include officers’ names, photos, emails, office location and phone numbers, according to Sutton. Sutton added that the department will be introducing a new transparency measure that involves issuing receipts to people who are stopped by police. 
The Cavalier Daily

national stories of interest

Although the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows citizens to request agency records and thus keep a close eye on their government, proprietary information is exempt from disclosure under Exemption 4, which protects “trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential.” A substantial body of case law has developed regarding what does and does not qualify as proprietary, and therefore exempt, under FOIA. For example, the total price paid under a government contract is rarely exempt, but a contractor’s line-item pricing often can be. However, there is no per se rule that line-item pricing is exempt from release under FOIA. Instead, contractors must show on a case-by-case basis that the disclosure of the line-item pricing would cause competitive harm. On September 28, 2018, the D.C. District Court issued two noteworthy decisions holding that line-item pricing data and commission rates were exempt from release under FOIA Exemption 4.
The National Law Review

Dogged by a state ethics commission investigation into trips he took as mayor of Tallahassee, Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, has insisted that all of his travel was above board, paid for by himself, his wife or his younger brother. “I don’t take free trips from anybody,” Mr. Gillum said in a debate on Sunday. But records made public on Tuesday suggest that Mr. Gillum knowingly accepted a ticket to the Broadway show “Hamilton” from men he believed to be businessmen looking to develop property in Tallahassee — but who were actually undercover F.B.I. agents. The records also suggest that a lobbyist friend provided Mr. Gillum and his brother with a hotel room in New York — and possibly paid for much of a vacation the mayor shared in Costa Rica.
The New York Times

The world might never know who won the historic $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night. That’s because the ticket matching all six numbers was sold in South Carolina, and the state is one of eight states where winners can remain anonymous. Other states that also support incognito winners: Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas.
USA TODAY