Recently, I've done several posts on "backlash" attempts by the Administration. Several of those posts expose how the Administration uses members of the media like Eddie Burke and ADN's Sheila Toomey as tools of their backlash. These posts have directly led to several records requests which I have filed with the Palin Administration.
Pursuant to Alaska Statute 40.25.110, I request the Office of the Governor to duplicate and provide me with a copy of:
1) any and all email contact between you or any employee of the Office of the Governor (statewide) and Alaska resident Eddie Burke,
2) any and all emails to/from you or any employee of the Office of the Governor (statewide) that discuss Eddie Burke in any way,
3) any and all records requests submitted which target emails to or from Alaska resident Andree McLeod, and
4) a fee breakdown, invoice or any other document which assesses the cost of retrieving the McLeod emails and whether those fees have been/will be charged to the requester.
(This was basically the same records request I used for Sheila Toomey as well.)
This week, I finally received a response to those requests. They also provided me with the "costs" I would have to provide before they would be able to do this records request for me:
To provide complete responses to the email portions of your request, we will need to electronically search the email accounts of the 71 current and former employees who have worked in the Governor's Executive Offices since December 2006. For that electronic search, we will need the assistance of the State Security Office in the Department of Administration, Division of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS). ETS estimates that each email account retrieval, search, and record production will require 16 hours to complete. The ETS hourly rate is $54.84, so ETS estimates its costs per email account will be $925.44. Based on that estimate, ETS's estimated costs for obtaining records from 71 employee email accounts total $65,706.
Division of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) is the State of Alaska version of any company's IT department. ETS employees are public employees, paid with public funds.
In other words...ETS employees work for the people of the State of Alaska.
Yet, as an Alaskan citizen, I am being charged money...an EXORBITANT, UNREASONABLE amount of money...for a records search which is my statutory right as an Alaskan citizen.
I'm being charged directly for something that's ALREADY PART OF THEIR JOB!
Plus, if it takes as long as they claim to do a simple email search on two names, then ETS should lose the "technology" part of their name...they have none.
Of course, just like with any "deal," now starts the negotiation. I sent these questions back to Linda Perez.
1) Am I correct in understanding your claim that it costs $925.44 to search and copy emails from one email account?
2) Is this the standard rate and is everyone charged this fee who makes a request of this nature?
I received a reply, where Ms. Perez states:
1. Yes, the Division of Enterprise Technology Services charges $925.44 to conduct an electronic search of a state e-mail account and make electronic copies of the search results. I have attached a breakdown of the ETS process and resulting fee estimate.
2. Yes, these ETS costs are a standard rate that we charge whenever ETS conducts an electronic search of a state e-mail account to respond to a public records request. Of course, these rates could change based on, e.g., changes in personnel costs or changes in the amount of time needed to complete the work.
I guess the ONLY way to find out if that's true with Sheila Toomey and Eddie Burke is to do my records request, right? See the catch?
Of course, Governor Palin's penchant for secrecy is...well...no secret anymore. Many who have filed records requests with the state have had to look into their pocketbooks first to determine how much honesty they can afford. This was well documented by the New York Times during the campaign:
The governor and her top officials sometimes use personal e-mail accounts for state business; dozens of e-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that her staff members studied whether that could allow them to circumvent subpoenas seeking public records.
Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that his request would cost $468,784 to process.
I'll be sending my request modification to them sometime today. While I will be significantly shrinking the parameters, which should significantly reduce the price, it's still going to cost several thousand. (I'll have to figure out the money end when I know the final tally. I jokingly asked my husband if we could sell the house. He didn't laugh.)
I'll update you when I know the final cost of this "open and transparent" government.
***************************UPDATE*************************
My reply to Linda Perez:
Ms. Perez:
Thank you for your prompt reply.
Several points:
-- I want to make sure that I have a clear understanding of the situation so, in summary:
1) The ETS charges $925.44 per individual email account if they find it necessary to electronically search it.
2) The ETS per/hour charge is $57.84
3) This means that per individual email account, it takes an ETS employee 16 hours to do an electronic search.
Is this correct??
If so, what type of "electronic search" on one email account for two names takes 16 hours? Is that in anticipation that there will be a great many emails that will fit the "Eddie Burke" and "Sheila Toomey" search parameters? If I shorten the date range to, say, one year or maybe six months...will it take less than 16 hours?
-- Your original response to my request (pdf file "Linda Kellen fee letter") also stated:
"Once you pay the fees and the record compilation is completed, we intend to review the records to determine whether they are truly responsive to your requests and whether they include any confidential or privileged information that should not be disclosed."
Since the letter was unclear, I wanted to ensure that some of the "16 hours" for the electronic search time was NOT actually taking into consideration the time required to "review" the documents to determine "privilege." My understanding is that any estimate of anticipated costs for search and copying cannot include time likely to be spent reviewing the documents to see if they can or should be withheld due to a claim of privilege. (5902 S-11105 Fuller v. City of Homer, 113 P.3d. 659, 666)
-- I would also like to make these modifications to my records request:
1) Change the "start date" to July 1, 2008.
2) Limit the Governor's Office employee email accounts to be searched to Governor Sarah Palin, Linda Perez, Bill McAllister, Kris Perry and Sharon Leighow
3) I would like all other parameters of my request(s) to remain the same.
-- Finally, per Section 40.25.110 of the Alaska Statutes, I would like to request a reduction or waiver of the final fees, once we have come to an agreement upon the modified request. As we live on my husband's income because I do not have regular employment due to disability, my family would be unable to afford the extra expense. Also, my request and use of these records more than qualifies as an exercise benefiting the public interest. The results of my records request(s) will be published on my blog, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis, which is specifically geared to Alaska issues. I'm also using this as an opportunity to educate my readers not only on the workings of state government in general but specifically on the process surrounding the State of Alaska Public Records Act.
Thank you and I await your response,
Linda Kellen Biegel
Thanks to your comments here and on Mudflats, as well as some of the private emails, I was able to craft that response! Thank you for all of your help and support!
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