Chauncey resident sues village over public records

A resident of the village of Chauncey who has been a longtime critic of its municipal government has now sued the village over an alleged public-records violation.

Tom Baggs of Elm Street filed suit in Athens County Common Pleas Court Friday, alleging that he has been denied access to public records documenting water and sewer utility bills for the village.

Baggs claims in the suit that on Oct. 8, he hand-delivered to the village a public-records request for the documents, dating back to Jan. 1, 2007.

On Oct. 21, his suit states, he got a letter back from Maria J. Mirza, the village fiscal officer, telling him that the village couldn't produce all the records, because some were "either on a computer in the possession of the Athens County Sheriff's office, or, in the alternative, had been stolen."

He did receive a printout of records from June to October 2009, the suit says.

Though Baggs has since inquired about the village's public-records retention policy, the suit alleges, he has gotten no response.

Baggs has alleged that Chauncey has broken state law by failing to draft a records retention policy, failing to organize and maintain its records, and allowing some records to be removed, destroyed or disposed of; and has been negligent in its duties regarding public records. The number of records involved is more than 500, he claims.

The suit notes that Ohio law allows for a $1,000 forfeiture for each violation of public-records law. The suit does not do the math explicitly, but presumably this means Baggs could be seeking more than $500,000 in forfeitures from the village, if each missing record is treated as a separate violation.

The suit does ask for compensatory damages of at least $25,000. It also asks Judge Michael Ward to order the village to produce the requested documents, and to begin following state law in maintaining its public records.

Baggs said Sunday that he and some other citizens who are deeply unhappy with the village government wanted the records to see if they have the basis for a lawsuit over what they consider illegally high water rates.

"I (requested the records) in good faith," Baggs said. "My wife and I believe that the residents (of Chauncey) have been overcharged (for water and sewer) for a long time, since 2007... What I wanted to do was file a class-action lawsuit over the water and sewer issues."

Baggs said he has gotten opinions from three different lawyers who have all told him the village's water/sewer ordinance could be successfully challenged in court. However, he said, if he wants to do that, the billing records are crucial.

"We all thought we were being overcharged, and we don't have any way to prove it," he said. "The village destroyed the only evidence I had at my disposal."

He added that he takes no joy in suing an impoverished village, but feels it has to be done to hold village officials accountable.

"It's sad it had to come to this, but records have been a problem for years," he alleged. "This wasn't something we really take any pleasure in."

The village solicitor, Robert Shostak, said Friday that he hadn't yet seen the lawsuit. He added, however, that some of the records Baggs wants simply may not be available, and that if this is true, it could be a defense for the village in the lawsuit.

"If (Baggs) made the request (for the records) and the village didn't grant the request, certainly he has the right to sue to get them," Shostak acknowledged.

However, he added, village officials have recently reported that some records appear to have been expunged from a village computer, and have called in the Athens County sheriff to investigate. As part of this investigation, he said, the computer in question is now in the hands of the sheriff's office.

"We can't produce something we don't have," Shostak said. "And the Supreme Court of Ohio has never said, 'Make some records up and give them to people.'"