After Supreme Court Ruling, County Revisists Public Records Policies

Apr 01, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Salt Lake County is revisiting its public records policies after the Utah Supreme Court ruled against its decision to withhold the details of a sexual harassment investigation of a former deputy county clerk.

"We just looked at the nature of the report itself, a sexual harassment report. The county had a policy at the time that indicated those reports would be protected and would not be released," Wilde says. "The basis of the county's position there was so there would not be a chilling effect on witnesses or complaintants coming forth to make those types of allegations."

That's Valerie Wilde, the county's assistant division director of litigation. She fought on behalf of the county during its four-year legal battle with the Deseret News. The Salt Lake City paper requested the information under the Government Records Access and Management Act, known as GRAMA. Wilde says the court ruling is clear that the county needs to be more open with its classification of records pertaining to elected officials.

"When we have an official where the public has some interest in understanding more about those reports, that the county should weigh and balance that need of the public against the privacy interests in the report," Wilde says. "And I think the court was fairly clear that with public officials, that we are going to lean more toward openness than not."

Wilde says as a result of the Supreme Court ruling, the report in question is now officially classified as a public document. She says the county's personnel department is currently drafting new GRAMA policies for the County Council to review in the near future.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW