Mudge v. Town of North Kingstown, 112117 RIAGO, AGO PR17-44B

• Case Date: November 21, 2017
• Court: Rhode Island

Mudge v. Town of North Kingstown AGO PR17-44B No. PR17-44B Rhode Island Attorney General Opinion State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations November 21, 2017           Matthew F. Callaghan, Jr., Esq.           Peter F. Kilmartin, Attorney General          Mr. Bill Mudge          Re: Mudge v. Town of North Kingstown          Dear Mr. Mudge:          This correspondence serves as a supplemental finding to Mudge v. Town of North Kingstown, PR 17-44, released September 5, 2017. In Mudge v. Town of North Kingstown, we reviewed your April 19, 2017 Access to Public Records Act ("APRA") complaint against the Town of North Kingstown ("Town") and concluded that the Town violated the APRA when it failed to timely respond to your March 15, 2017 APRA request. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7. The sole issue to be addressed in this supplemental finding is whether the Town's violation was willful and knowing, or reckless. As requested, the Town responded to our inquiry and we now resolve this outstanding issue.          By letter dated September 19, 2017, Attorney Matthew F. Callaghan, Jr., Esquire, provided a supplemental response. Attorney Callaghan states, in pertinent part:

"It must be noted that, because Mr. Mudge's request for financial records was for records of the school department, the request should properly have been directed to the school department, not the town. With respect to his request for the 2016 Audit, the Audit could not have been produced because the independent auditor had not completed the audit at the time. The Audit was furnished to Mr. Mudge as soon as it had been completed during May 2017. As explained in our prior correspondence, the failure of the town to provide a timely written respon[se] to Mr. Mudge was totally inadvertent and unintentional. Actually, it is my understanding that, after Mr. Mudge had submitted his APRA request, he and the town finance director [Mr.] Ted Pryzbala had a number of discussion regarding the status of his pending request. The excellent record of the town in responding to APRA requests over the past six (6) years makes it clear that the town has been, and remains very willing to, provide records in response to any requests submitted under the APRA.

In no respect does this incident constitute willful, knowing or reckless conduct in violation of the APRA. That conclusion is fully supported by the town's consistent adherence to the requirements of the APRA over the past six (6) years. This isolated incident was totally inadvertent and unintentional and certainly does not, in any respect,

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