Open Records Request Complaint on Water/Sewer Billing Crisis

By Viola Davis

To DeKalb County Taxpayers and Voters:

We submitted an Open Records Request for the emails of Zachary Williams and Antrameka Knight to perform further research on the water/sewer billing and water crises.  We were given an original price of $135.00 each for the digital versions of the emails.  We delivered the full payment of $135.00 for Zachary Williams’ emails via money order on July 9, 2018.  We agreed to pick up the request via a hard drive on July 16, 2018.  We had several citizen researchers ready to go through the emails.  However, the county attorney changed the price from $135.00 to $5,376.74.

Truthfully, we cannot afford this price and see such a price as an “over-charge”.

We have received email information from several similar Open Records Requests in the past without such a “review charge” to include:

1. Kelvin Walton’s emails – Prior Chief Purchasing Officer (CPO) for DeKalb County Purchasing and Contracting Department …charge was $52.50 on request number 1 and $97.50 on request number 2.
2. Talisa Clark’s emails – Present Chief Purchasing Officer (CPO) for DeKalb County Purchasing and Contracting Department…charge was $187.50.

We are forced to ask, “What are they trying to hide?”

Please Note.  In reference to your correspondence to me dated August 10, 2018, concerning our Open Records Request for Zachary Williams’ emails, I am not requesting this information as a State Representative-Elect for House District 87.

You will note that all correspondence concerning our request has been submitted by our organization/ministry of Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter and as a community missionary.  I have submitted requests to the County as a community missionary for over twenty years.   Kindly consider this request as the same.

We are forwarding a timeline of events involving this request and copies of emails, plus other documents for you to review.

Since it is your vote that “hires and fires” elected officials, and your tax money that finances the elected officials’ salaries, budgets, staff, equipment, etc., we proclaim that you are the “Employers” and elected officials are the “Employees”!

Please contact your “employees” and ask the following:

• Why did the County overcharge for this Open Records Request?  Is it because we are researching the water/sewer billing crises?
• Finally, what are they trying to hide?

Timeline for Open Records Request for Zachary Williams and Antrameka Knight emails

• July 5, 2018 – We sent an Open Records Request for Zachary Williams’ and Antrameka Knight’s emails.
• July 5, 2018 – We were informed the Open Records Request would cost us $135.00.
• July 6, 2018 – We stated that we would deliver the money for the items requested in the Open Records Request to the Finance Department.
• July 9, 2018 – We delivered $135.00 in the form of a money order to the Finance Department for Zachary Williams’ emails.  At that time, we requested an approximate date of when we could pick up the emails (hard drive).
• July 11, 2018 - We agreed to pick up the emails (hard drive) on Monday, July 16, 2018.
• July 12, 2018 – We informed our citizen researchers/volunteers that we will pick up the emails (hard drive) on Monday for them to start review.
• July 13, 2018 – We were informed that our Open Records Request concerning Zachary Williams would have an additional charge.
• July 16, 2018 – We requested information on the additional charges.
• August 3, 2018 – We made a second request for information on the additional charges.  We were informed the charges will be well over $1000.00.  We challenged the reason for such a drastic and elevated charge.
• August 12, 2018 – We decided to inform the taxpayers and voters of the additional charge of $5,376.74.  We ask, “What are they hiding”?

Open Records Act Complaint – DeKalb County Price Gouging With Attachments by Viola Davis on Scribd