FREEDOM
OF INFORMATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
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In the Matter of a Complaint by
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FINAL DECISION
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Paul
A. Aloi, |
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Complainants
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against
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Docket #FIC 2001-221 |
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Town
Manager, Town of Wethersfield, |
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Respondents
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January
9, 2002 |
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The above-captioned matter was heard as a contested
case on June 4, 2001, at which time the complainant and the respondent
appeared, stipulated to certain facts and presented testimony, exhibits and
argument on the complaint.
After consideration of the entire record, the
following facts are found and conclusions of law are reached:
1. The respondent is a public agency within the meaning of §1-200(1),
G.S.
2. It is found that, by letter dated April 17, 2001, to the
respondent, the complainant requested copies of:
“[a]
all public records and files, correspondence, complaints, letters, and all
records of arrest including arrest report, incidents reports, news releases,
or other similar reports of arrest, uncorroborated allegations of criminal
activity or complaints made against Paul A. Aloi…including but not limited
to complaints made by Edward Peruta, Steve Signor, Richard Peruta, Sue
Cramer, Bruce Cusinelli and members Wethersfield Community Television;
[b]
all public records and files of complaints made to the town in regards to
Edward Peruta and Wethersfield Community Television and the towns response
to the same;
[c] all public records as it relates to incidents at 832
Silas Deane Highway, owned by Marsha Aloi…including uncorroborated
complaints of Paul A. Aloi made by Security Professionals and any and all
tenants and any records of investigations thereof;
[d]
all public records, correspondence, investigations as it relates to Paul A.
Aloi and Winding Brook Turf Farm including Douglas Morgan, Fire Marshall
Santoro, and Assistant Fire Marshal Dignotti, Edward Peruta, Richard Peruta
and any other Town, State, and Federal officials and agencies.
All freedom of information requests made by Edward Peruta in regards
to Paul A. Aloi, including taped phone complaint made to Assistant Fire
Marshal Dignoti by Paul Aloi that were given to and made public by Edward
Peruta. Any records as it
relates to allegations of harassment made by Fire Marshal Dignoti to Paul A.
Aloi and his family;
[e]
all public records, complaints, pending claims, pending litigation, made by
citizens or public agency as it relates to Winding Brook Turf Farm including
that which relates to Irrigation Pumps, underground gas tanks, and noise
complaints by neighbors for either truck traffic, pump noise, or any other
complaints since 1985 to any public agency of town state, or federal
agencies including any “implementing agency” as defined in section
32-222 Sec 1-200 of the Freedom of Information Act including any activity
that causes potential for pollution, erosion, sedimentation of wetlands and
watercourse activity, regulated or otherwise, and which adversely affects
health, welfare or safety of any individual of the community including
storage of gasoline in a non conforming container (unlabeled 55 gallon oil
drum) on public recreation property (Mill Woods), scrubbing of Mill Woods
property for strawberry fields (1987), excavation of town waterway (Golf
Brook 1986) and complaints filed thereof and remedies by town;
[f]…any
and all permits, leases, contracts for irrigation pumping from town property
or any lease or contract that allows irrigation on town property between
Winding Brook Turf Farm including any lease referred to in the ‘Registration
of Existing Water Diversion’ application signed by ‘William D. Morgan
Jr.’ in 1983…and any irrigation rights between the town that were ‘retained’
by Morgan as stated by town clerk as per your letter dated June 28, 1999…”
3. It is found that the
respondent assigned the acting town manager to respond to the request
described in paragraph 2, above, upon its receipt, since the respondent was
about to leave town for a conference.
4. By letter dated and filed on May 2, 2001, the complainant
appealed to this Commission, alleging that the respondent violated the Freedom
of Information [hereinafter “FOI”] Act by failing to provide him with
copies of the requested records.
5. It is found that, upon receiving the Commission’s May 7,
2001, notification of the complaint, described in paragraph 4, above, the
respondent notified all town departments which he believed might have records
responsive to the request described in paragraph 2, above, to search their
files for any responsive records.
6. It is found that, under cover letter dated May 18, 2001, the
respondent provided the complainant with copies of the following records
responsive to the complainant’s request, as described in paragraph 2, above:
a June 28, 1999 letter to the complainant from the town engineer regarding the
noise ordinance issue, the irrigation issue, the lease issue, and the pump and
fuel storage safety issue; a June 30, 1999 letter to the police chief from Mr.
Morgan/Winding Brook Turf Farm relative to the complainant’s behavior; and a
document entitled “Right to Flood and Overflow with Water” Manuscript Vol.
115 page 45 of the Wethersfield land records, relating to the Mill Woods Pond.
It is also found that, by such letter, the respondent informed the
complainant that there are no pending claims or pending law suits made by
citizens or public agencies relating to Winding Brook Turf Farm, that the
police chief informed the respondent that he had provided the complainant with
all records relative to the requests described in paragraph 2.a, 2.b and 2.c,
above, and that the town had provided the complainant with all records
responsive to the request described in paragraph 2, above.
7. Section 1-210(a), G.S., provides in relevant part that:
“[e]xcept
as otherwise provided by any federal law or state statute, all records
maintained or kept on file by any public agency, whether or not such
records are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public
records and every person shall have the right to…receive a copy of such
records in accordance with the provisions of section 1-212….”
[Emphasis
added].
8. Section 1-212(a), G.S., provides in relevant part that “[a]ny
person applying in writing shall receive, promptly upon request, a plain or
certified copy of any public record….”
9. At the hearing in this matter, the complainant contended that
the respondent did not perform a thorough search of all town records that are
responsive to the request described in paragraph 2, above.
10.
It is found that the request described in paragraph 2, above, involves
numerous types of records relating to different subject matters, and that any
responsive records are likely maintained in several separate town agencies,
including the police department, inland-wetlands commission, department of
public works, fire marshal, and town clerk.
11.
It is further found that, under the FOI Act, the respondent is required
to search his office and provide the complainant with records that are kept on
file or maintained in the respondent’s office.
Although it is laudable that the respondent, as the chief executive of
the town,-- attempted to ascertain and locate all records that could possibly
be responsive to the complainant’s request, he was not obligated to do so.
A simple response to the complainant indicating the different agencies
that would likely maintain the requested records would suffice.
12.
It is also found that, while attempting to conduct a town-wide search,
the respondent did not thoroughly search his own office for any responsive
records, including but not limited to, records related to Edward Peruta and
Wethersfield Community Television.
13.
It is concluded that, under the facts and circumstances of this case,
the respondent violated §§1-210(a)
and 1-212(a), G.S., by failing to promptly provide the complainant with
responsive records maintained in the respondent’s office.
The
following order by the Commission is hereby recommended on the basis of the
record concerning the above-captioned complaint.
1.
If he has not already done so, the respondent shall forthwith search
the office of the town manager for the records described in paragraph 2 of the
findings, above. If any
responsive records are found, the respondent shall immediately provide copies
thereof to the complainant free of charge, and indicate by affidavit to the
complainant that such records are the only responsive records that he keeps on
file or maintains. In the
alternative, if after such search, the respondent finds no responsive records
other than those already provided to the complainant, he shall so inform the
complainant by affidavit.
Approved by Order of the Freedom of Information
Commission at its regular meeting of January 9, 2002.
_______________________________________
Petrea A. Jones
Acting Clerk of the Commission
PURSUANT TO SECTION 4-180(c), G.S., THE FOLLOWING ARE THE
NAMES OF EACH PARTY AND THE MOST RECENT MAILING ADDRESS, PROVIDED TO THE
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION, OF THE PARTIES OR THEIR AUTHORIZED
REPRESENTATIVE.
THE PARTIES TO THIS CONTESTED CASE ARE:
Town Manager
Town of Wethersfield
c/o Jayme E. Stamper, Esq.
Rome McGuigan Sabanosh, PC
One State Street
Hartford, CT 06103
________________________________
Petrea A. Jones
Acting Clerk of the Commission
FIC/2001-221/FD/paj/1/11/2002