COMMENTARY
“In a recent interview with a Miami television station, former Florida governor Jeb Bush said, “Part of serving or running, both of them, is transparency, to be totally transparent.”
“Bush’s point it one the members of the Indian River Shores Town Council might do well to consider.”
MARK SCHUMANN
Seeking to force Vero Beach to cease electric service to its Indian River Shores customers in 2016, the Indian River Shores Town Council has filed a lawsuit in circuit court and seems determined to take its case to court in March. Pursuing essentially the same objective, Indian River County leaders have, instead, worked through lobbyists and are now seeking permission from the Florida Public Service Commission to force Vero Beach to abandon its out-of-county customers in 2017.
To handle its PSC filing, the County hired Floyd Self of the Tallahassee law firm Gonzalez, Saggio and Harlan. Vero Beach hired utility law specialist Schef Wright, also of Tallahassee. Self charges $275 and hour, Wright $225. (Transactional attorneys John Igoe and his partner Bruce Miller each charged Vero Beach $500 an hour to negotiate and draft a sales agreement between Vero Beach and Florida Power & Light. Their bills to Vero Beach topped $1.5 million.) Indian River Shores hired Bruce May of the law firm Holland and Knight.
Taxpayers and utility customers have a right to know how much they are having to pay in legal bills, as the Shores Town Council and the County Commission pursue alternate strategies to break up Vero Electric. In an effort to report this story, I recently made lawful pubic records requests of the County, Vero Beach and the Shores.
While the County and the City of Vero Beach have been forthcoming in providing copies of invoices from their outside counsel, the Shores is sitting on the requested documents, all of which are public record.
Within three hours of receiving my public records request, County Attorney Dylan Reingold emailed electric copies of the requested invoice. Also responding within a matter of hours, Vero Beach City Clerk Tammy Vock was also willing to email copies of invoices from the City’s outside counsel.
Shores City Clerk Laura Aldrich has been less forthcoming. Eight days after receiving my public records request, Aldrich replied with the following message: “In response to your public records request dated December 14, 2014, those records are available for review in my office. Please note that I will be in and out of the office during the holiday season and in January, so please contact me to arrange a time convenient to both of our schedules.”
Why is Aldrich unwilling to send electric copies of invoices the Shores has received from outside counsel Bruce May of the law firm Holland and Knight, and why is she also unwilling to make copies of the invoices (at a charge) as provided for by Florida law? In short, what does the Shores have to hide.
In a recent interview with a Miami television station, former Florida governor Jeb Bush said, “Part of serving or running, both of them, is transparency, to be totally transparent.”
Bush’s point it one the members of the Indian River Shores Town Council might do well to consider.
Indian River Guardian 
If we all showed up at her office and camped out during regular business hours, do you reckon she would have an excuse not to show us those invoices? Public records from Indian River Shores are no different than public records from Vero, Sebastian, Indian River County, or Fellsmere–they are supposed to be accessible. Apparently Ms Aldrich is also not accessible to the public. Maybe her office is understaffed…..probably because any extra funds are going to pay for legal bills. She must be pretty sure that you will not fly all the way back to Indian River County just for those documents.
Records, Schmecords, This month’s bill from Vero Electric were less than $300.00 and I am thrilled. I do hope it is not a mistake, but lets face it, in less than two years from now I might not be so lucky.
Laura is very sharp; she is probably disgusted with the high Vero rates and is not making it easy to see those records. Why? Probably because she could! Happy and healthy Holidays to all, is there a deal for the illumination of Chanukah and Christmas lights from Vero Electric???? If not mine is on a “Clapper”!
Actually, Larry, the Shores Town Clerk cannot refuse to make copies of the invoices in question. I intend to take the matter up with the Florida Attorney General’s office after the first of the year. It is already known that several Shores Town Council members have communicated with each other via email about Town business. By failing to honor the spirit and the letter of the the Florida Sunshine Law and Florida’s open records law, Indian River Shores officials do, indeed, appear to be believe their Town is a “sovereign” principality.
Larry, I responded to your comment yesterday indicating that Indian River Shores Town Clerk Laura Aldrich, who is the custodian of the Town’s public records, has not been responsive to my December 14 public records request. Below is the message I sent Mrs. Aldrich citing the relevant Florida Statute:
Dear Mrs. Aldrich,
Based on Florida Statute 119.7(4), I do not believe your December 23 email to me (below) is responsive to my December 14 public records request. You appear to be taking the position that you are unwilling to make copies of and mail or email to me invoices the Town of Indian River Shores has received from attorney Bruce May and/or the law firm of Holland and Knight. Florid law provides that, at appropriate fees, custodians of public records much furnish by mail copies of requested public records.
Pages 146/147 of the Government-In-The-Sunshine-Manual:
Finally, s. 119.07(4), F.S., requires the custodian to “furnish a copy or a certified copy of the record upon payment of the fee prescribed by law . . . .” And see Fuller v. State ex rel. O’Donnell, 17 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 1944) (“The best reasoned authority in this country holds that the right to inspect public records carries with it the right to make copies”); and Schwartzman v. Merritt Island Volunteer Fire Department, 352 So. 2d 1230, 1232n.2 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977) (Public Records Act requires custodian to furnish copies).
Cf. Wootton v. Cook, 590 So. 2d 1039, 1040 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (if the requestor identifies a record with sufficient specificity to permit the agency to identify it and forwards the appropriate fee, the agency must furnish by mail a copy of the record).
I await your response to my December 14 public records request.
Sincerely,
Mark Schumann, Editor & Publisher
Inside Indian River
772.696.5233
editor.insideindianriver@gmail.com
http://www.insideindianriver.com
FS 119.7(4):
(4) The custodian of public records shall furnish a copy or a certified copy of the record upon payment of the fee prescribed by law. If a fee is not prescribed by law, the following fees are authorized:
(a)1. Up to 15 cents per one-sided copy for duplicated copies of not more than 14 inches by 81/2inches;
2. No more than an additional 5 cents for each two-sided copy; and
3. For all other copies, the actual cost of duplication of the public record.
Sounds like Ms. Aldrich is in fear of her job if she doses out the public records to you. I would think she takes her marching orders from the elected officials and we know they have very little respect for the laws….Sunshine Laws that is.