PR 99-19 (1999).

• Case Date: December 23, 1999
• Court: Rhode Island

Rhode Island Attorney General Opinions 1999. PR 99-19 (1999). State of Rhode IslandDepartment of the Attorney GeneralPR 99-19 (1999)PR 99-19 Cranston United Taxpayers v. City of CranstonUnofficial Finding PR 99-19December 23, 1999Mr. Mark DeLoreto.Cranston, Rhode Island 02920Re: Cranston United Taxpayers v. City of CranstonOUR File No.: PR 99-0143 Dear Mr. DeLoreto: The investigation into your Access to Public Records Act (APRA) complaint filed against the City of Cranston (City) is complete. You contend that the City violated the APRA by failing to provide your organization, Cranston United Taxpayers, Inc. (CUT), with an opportunity to photocopy and/or inspect documents, which you believe the City maintains as part of an ongoing arbitration hearing with City firefighters. In particular, you forwarded a letter to Cranston solicitor, William G. Brody, Esquire, requesting: (1) "a copy of all transcripts and related documents," (2) "[a]ny exhibits entered in evidence in the contract arbitration hearing by witnesses provided by either the City of Cranston or the firefighters' union," and (3) "[a]ll documents, records, charts, graphs presented by the City of Cranston and/or firefighters' union and transcripts or any evidence prepared by witnesses, testifying before the arbitrator at the current arbitration hearing." In your letter to Mr. Brody, you relate that the City and the firefighters have "come to an impasse in their negotiations." As a result, you argue that "when the negotiations came to an impasse and both parties entered into arbitration, the arbitration process now falls under the [A]ccess to Public Records Law." Mr. Mark DeLoreto December 23, 1999 Page 2 of 6 Thereafter, Cranston Mayor John O'Leary responded to the letter that you sent to Mr. Brody, and, according to your complaint, Mayor O'Leary "stated that he would comply completely with the request . . . made in [the letter to Mr. Brody]." Based upon Mayor O'Leary's representation, CUT was notified that the requested documents were available, and several days later, a member of CUT examined and photocopied selected documents relating to the arbitration hearing. Despite access to some records, your complaint alleges that "[n]oticeably missing were transcripts of the arbitration hearing." Consequently, you complain that you have been denied access to the transcripts for an ongoing arbitration hearing. Furthermore, in a subsequent letter forwarded to this Department, you allege that the City again violated the APRA by failing to provide "a copy of the [1996, 1997, and 1998 budget forecast] plan[s] submitted by the City Administration, the Cranston School Committee, and the...