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Thursday, January 3, 2013

MAYOR SEGARRA'S MESSAGE: TRANSPARENT OR ILLEGAL?

The text below is a complaint I file today with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission , regarding the Media Policy of Mayor Pedro Segarra. According to Connecticut state law, any policy that impedes the publics right to obtain documents promptly is illegal, no matter how bad you want to control the message.

December 28, 2012
On or about August 25, 2010 The State of Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission issued and adopted a final ruling in FIC# 2009-528, Kevin Brookman against the City of Hartford, City Council President Calixto Torres and City of Hartford Corporation Counsel John Rose.
In that matter, I had filed a complaint with the Commission that at the time all requests for public documents were required to go through the City’s Corporation Counsel for “screening” before documents were released. In the hearing officers report it is stated that in  P10.  Section 1-200(5), G.S., provides public records or files” means any recorded data or information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, received or retained by a public agency, or to which a public agency is entitled to receive a copy by law or contract under section 1-218, whether such data or information be handwritten, typed, tape-recorded, printed, photostated, photographed or recorded by any other method.
 The report further states in paragraph 11.  Section 1-210(a), G.S., provides in relevant part except as otherwise provided by any federal law or state statute, all records maintained or kept on file by any public agency, whether or not such records are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person shall have the right to (1) inspect such records promptly during regular office or business hours, (2) copy such records in accordance with subsection (g) of section 1-212, or (3) receive a copy of such records in accordance with section 1-212. 
Section 13 of the report states  It is concluded that the requested records, which could have been provided on the very day they were requested, were not provided promptly.
Section 15 of the hearing officers report further stated  “With regard to the practice or policy of requiring all FOI requests to be forwarded to the Corporation Counsel’s Office for review, regardless of the nature of the request or the content of the requested records, § 1-210(a), G.S., provides in relevant part: “Any agency rule or regulation, or part thereof, that conflicts with the provisions of this subsection or diminishes or curtails in any way the rights granted by this subsection shall be void.”
17.  It is therefore concluded that the practice described in paragraph 15, above, is void pursuant to §1-210(a), G.S
In adopting the hearing officer’s report , the Commission ordered:   1.  Henceforth the respondents shall strictly comply with the requirements of §1-210(a), G.S.            2. The policy and practice of automatically forwarding all requests for public records to Corporation Counsel for review and action is declared null and void.  3.  Nothing in this decision shall be construed to prohibit or discourage any public agency from seeking the advice of counsel with regard to FOI requests in appropriate circumstances, where legal advice is required.
On or about November 30, 2012 Ms. Maribel laLuz, Communications Director for the City of Hartford and specifically Hartford’s Mayor Pedro Segarra issued the following order to all Hartford city employees via the attached e-mail:
Media Request Protocol
All,
Please be advised that the Office of Communications needs to be notified of all media requests. If any journalist emails or leaves a voicemail, please let me know before responding. If a journalist gets you on the phone, tell them to contact me directly with their request. We need to be aware of developing stories. 
Thank you for your cooperation. Let me know if you have questions. 
-Maribel
Any screening or delay provided by a review of requests for information or documents by Ms. Laluz would appear to be a violation of the Commissions previous order to the City as outlined in the Final Decision in FIC2009-528.
Any delay or screening process for documents or information when requested by a media person or a member of the public and covered under the Freedom of information Act that conflicts with the provisions of this subsection, 1-210, or diminishes or curtails in any way the rights granted by this subsection shall be void.” as detailed in the Commissions ruling of August 25, 2010.
The intent of Connecticut’s FOI laws and the publics right to prompt access to public documents and information, whether by  media persons or private individuals,  supercedes The Mayors “ need to be aware of developing stories.”, whatever the intent or reasoning.
I would respectfully request that the La Luz order be rescinded and the City of Hartford be ordered to comply with the Final decision  in FIC 2009-528. An order that they agreed to abide by at the time it was rendered.
Furthermore, Ms. LaLuz is not an attorney and has no connection to Hartford’s Corporation Counsel’s Office and there is no mention of seeking the advice of counsel with regard to FOI requests in appropriate circumstances, where legal advice is required as allowed in the Final Decision as approved by the Commission.
The Commissions Order in FIC 2009-528 is below:
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION COMMISSION
OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
In the Matter of a Complaint by  FINAL DECISION 

Kevin Brookman,   

   Complainant   

   against    Docket #FIC 2009-528

Calixto Torres, President,

City Council, City of Hartford;

John Rose, Jr., Corporation Counsel,

City of Hartford; and City of Hartford,   

   Respondents August 25, 2010                

 

The above-captioned matter was heard as a contested case on January 29, 2010, at which time the complainant and the respondents appeared, stipulated to certain facts and presented testimony, exhibits and argument on the complaint.            

 

After consideration of the entire record, the following facts are found and conclusions of law are reached:

1.  The respondents are public agencies within the meaning of §1-200(1), G.S.

2.  By letter of complaint filed September 14, 2009, the complainant appealed to the Commission, alleging that the respondents violated the Freedom of Information (“FOI”) Act by failing to comply promptly with his request for copies of public records, and by having a policy of forwarding all FOI requests to the respondent Rose, regardless of whether there was any question of whether possible exemptions apply.  The complainant requested the imposition of the maximum civil penalties against the named respondents. 

3.  It is found that the complainant, by email dated September 8, 2009 to the respondent Councilman Torres, requested “for review” the following:

Any and all monthly reports as defined under Section 5(a)(iii) of the Harford City Charter that have been provided to the Council as required by the Charter.  Please provide these documents for the period from July 1, 2008 to the present.

4.  It is found that the respondent Councilman Torres almost immediately caused the request to be forwarded to the respondent Corporation Counsel Rose “[f]or your review and action ….”

5.  It is additionally found that Councilman Torres’ administrative assistant, who received the request, was directed by Torres to forward the request to the respondent Rose. 

6.  It is additionally found that Torres’ administrative assistant understood that the requested records had been printed, were available online, and were public.

7.  It is found that Councilman Torres directed the complainant’s request to be forwarded to Rose because he understood that all FOI requests were to be forwarded to Corporation Counsel, because he believed that he needed Corporation Counsel to determine which records would satisfy the needs of the requester, and because he was unsure of the extent of his personal responsibilities to respond to the request.  It is additionally found that Councilman Torres had no reason to believe that the requested records were exempt from disclosure.

8.  It is found that Corporation Counsel Rose in turn forwarded the complainant’s request to the City Finance Department, from which the records had originated.

9.  It is found that the requested records were ultimately provided to the complainant on November 24, 2009.

10.  Section 1-200(5), G.S., provides:

“Public records or files” means any recorded data or information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used, received or retained by a public agency, or to which a public agency is entitled to receive a copy by law or contract under section 1-218, whether such data or information be handwritten, typed, tape-recorded, printed, photostated, photographed or recorded by any other method.

1.  Section 1-210(a), G.S., provides in relevant part:

Except as otherwise provided by any federal law or state statute, all records maintained or kept on file by any public agency, whether or not such records are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person shall have the right to (1) inspect such records promptly during regular office or business hours, (2) copy such records in accordance with subsection (g) of section 1-212, or (3) receive a copy of such records in accordance with section 1-212. 

12.  It is concluded that the requested records are public records within the meaning of §§1-200(5) and 1-210(a), G.S.

13.  It is concluded that the requested records, which could have been provided on the very day they were requested, were not provided promptly.

14.  It is therefore concluded that the respondents violated §1-210(a), G.S.

15.  With regard to the practice or policy of requiring all FOI requests to be forwarded to the Corporation Counsel’s Office for review, regardless of the nature of the request or the content of the requested records, § 1-210(a), G.S., provides in relevant part: “Any agency rule or regulation, or part thereof, that conflicts with the provisions of this subsection or diminishes or curtails in any way the rights granted by this subsection shall be void.”

16. It is found that the practice described in paragraph 15, above, diminishes or curtails the right of prompt access to public records granted by §1-210(a), G.S.

17.  It is therefore concluded that the practice described in paragraph 15, above, is void pursuant to §1-210(a), G.S.

18.  Because Councilman Torres honestly believed that he was required to forward all FOI requests to Corporation Counsel, and because that policy predated the respondent Rose’s tenure in office, the Commission in its discretion declines to consider the imposition of civil penalties.

The following order by the Commission is hereby recommended on the basis of the record concerning the above-captioned complaint:

            1.  Henceforth the respondents shall strictly comply with the requirements of §1-210(a), G.S.

            2. The policy and practice of automatically forwarding all requests for public records to Corporation Counsel for review and action is declared null and void.

            3.  Nothing in this decision shall be construed to prohibit or discourage any public agency from seeking the advice of counsel with regard to FOI requests in appropriate circumstances, where legal advice is required.

Approved by Order of the Freedom of Information Commission at its regular meeting of August 25, 2010.

 ____________________________

 

S. Wilson

 

Acting Clerk of the Commission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

JUST A THOUGHT

 
 
 
I am sure that the debate over the second amendment will become heated over the next few months.

The 2nd amendment to our Constitution reads as follows: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

What did our founding fathers have in mind? Did they ever envision Bushmaster rifles with 30 round clips and ammunition that is so devastating to human tissue, it would cause almost certain death when used, especially when used against a 6 year old child?

Is it time to return to what our founding fathers had in mind for self protection and allow Americans to own single shot muskets and black powder pistols? There is no place in any American home for a Bushmaster Assault rifle and as with most laws it is about the "intent" of the legislation and typically not the convoluted extreme result that many times occurs when extremists push the wording to the limit.

It also comes down to personal responsibility. It is extremely troubling to hear about a mentally disturbed individual  who was able to essentially shoplift assault rifles from an East Windsor gun store this past weekend. Were these weapons left around with the same level of security as DVD's at Walmart?

Shouldn't a responsible gun shop have these weapons properly secured in locked cases or at least some sort of cable run through them so that a crazed individual can't walk out with ammunition and an assault rifle in hand to wreak havoc on another town?Severe penalties should be invoked for any person that carelessly allows weapons to get into the wrong hands.

Something needs to change, this wasn't what or forefathers intended.The weapon pictured above has no place in any home

THANK YOU GOVERNOR MALLOY, LT GOVERNOR WYMAN

Yesterday I had the opportunity to spend a couple moments with Governor Malloy as he returned to his Capitol Office from Newtown.  He was definitely not his usual upbeat personality, and his signature green necktie had been replaced by a black tie of mourning. I thanked both the Governor and the Lt Governor for the way they were handling the Newtown massacre with sincerity and genuineness. No politics, no grandstanding.

I think anyone can be a politician, but there are not a lot of politicians that can step up and be real leaders during a time of crisis. It is easy as a politician to search out the closest television camera crew or make sure that your photo is taken for face book as you lay down a bouquet of flowers at a memorial. That's what politicians do.

Leaders do what needs to be done, and I think they do it more out of instinct rather than through any previous training. I don't think anyone could have prepared Governor Malloy for the task of having to tell 20 parents that there children were lying dead in the corner of a classroom, shot multiple times.

The morning new shows this morning were running stories that apparently claims were being made that family members of victims were possibly upset that Governor Malloy  was "insensitive" in the way he notified them that their loved ones were dead. I'm just wondering how you can possibly be more sensitive in notifying a family that their 6 year old child was dead?

No politician ever runs for office expecting to have to undertake the task of sensitively explaining the actions of a madman with an assault rifle killing innocent children. And I would venture to say that very few of our politicians are up to the task of doing it.

As Governor Malloy explained yesterday at a Capitol  press conference, if he had adhered to the "normal " process, it could have taken days for the official word and list of the deceased. Malloy felt that was wrong and expedited the process to give all parents  official word of the news that no parent wanted to receive as quickly as possible. To do otherwise "would  be wrong" according to the Governor as tears streamed down his cheeks and his voice  not coming easily.

The Governor, with Lt Governor Wyman by his side, has faced a couple months of tragedy that has been unprecedented in decades in our State. Hurricane Sandy's devastation by Mother nature and the Sandy Creek devastation by another human being.

No matter what your political views or political affiliation you have to admit these are difficult times that no elected official looks forward to having to deal with, the evaluation of their leadership is how they respond. You can visibly see the toll these actions take on Malloy and Wyman and I for one am very appreciative of their actions.

I can only think back to my time in High School when our Governor Thomas Meskill was out of state on vacation skiing while much of the State was without power after Ice Storm Felix and then the other story of Ella Grasso getting out of her limo and walking to the Capitol during a blizzard to lead our state during a crisis.

Leadership takes all forms, and I am glad we have this Governor on the 2nd floor at times like this

Saturday, December 15, 2012

HARTFORD HAS HEART, FUNERAL RELIEF FUND BEING ESTABLISHED

I think most of us wandered around Friday afternoon with a sense of helplessness and asking why? The Sandy Hook shootings were something even we aren't used to or prepared for as City residents. We see a lot here, but nothing can make sense of 20 young children massacred in a spot they should be able to feel safe as in their own homes with their parents

As Governor Malloy said"Evil visited Newtown today". When I heard that there was going to be a vigil in Bushnell, I knew I couldn't sit home. I got there early and I was never more proud of our City residents as a couple hundred people began filling the park.

The big question with most people was "how can we help?" "what can we do?".9-11 brought out similar feelings in most of us, but those were adults who had lived a good portion of their lives already, these were children gunned down by a man who can only be described as evil and mentally ill. You can only imagine the fear on their faces as what they probably thought was a friendly visitor to their classroom, executed them one by one.

As I talked to people at the vigil, I thought that most parents, especially in this economy, probably didn't have life insurance on a 6 year old child. Parents who are under the stress and pressure of just having their children murdered shouldn't now have to face the stress of figuring out how to pay for the funerals.

The first thing this morning I spoke with Hartford Police detective Claudette Kosinski who is also on the Board of Directors of the Hartford Police Federal Credit Union. I explained to her I wanted to set up a fund to collect donations to provide help to the families of the victims. She readily agreed and said she would contact the Credit Union Director to see what was involved. On Monday we plan on setting up the Bank Account to accept donations. Once the account is set up, I will set up a pay pal account to accept donations online.

If you see fit , I would ask that you consider mailing a donation to Newtown Victim Relief  c/o the Hartford Police Federal Credit Union, 50 Jennings Road, Hartford, CT 06120. All donations received will go to assist victim families

Thursday, December 13, 2012

PAY THOSE PARKING TICKETS

 
 
For anyone unaware, the Hartford Parking Authority has stepped up their efforts this past year to collect parking fines. Uncollected revenue from parking tickets in Hartford has been a problem for years, but apparently the Parking Authority has gone high-tech..

The Authority is now using "plate reader technology" which are cameras attached to a vehicle that patrols the city scanning thousands of license plates per hour. The cameras attached to a computer database identify vehicles with unpaid fines. Vehicles with as little as $300.00 in tickets are being impounded and towed to collect the fines. The days of accruing thousands of dollars in unpaid fines seem to be gone.

If you would like to check to see if you have tickets or to pay a fine, you can go to hartfordparking.com or visit the Parking Authority at Hartford Parking Authority Administrative Office 155 Morgan Street Hartford, CT 06103 Phone (860) 527-7275 Fax (860) 549-7275 Office Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM.

And apparently no one is exempt from the enforcement, word is that a Hartford police Officer Tracie Green had her car impounded and towed last week as a "parking scofflaw" after her vehicle was identified as having over $550.00 in unpaid fines.

If your vehicle is towed as a "scofflaw" you are also responsible for the towing and storage fees in addition to the outstanding fines

Saturday, December 1, 2012

THEY NEED A MARKETING DIRECTOR MORE THAN A PIO

I know , and will readily admit, that I am part of the problem here when it comes to putting out information about the Hartford Police Department. That is probably because  a lot of the calls I get relate to negative occurrences involving officers or other matters.

Before the comments start flying, I will also say that I try to put out the positive info when I get it.

For anyone that attended the promotion ceremony yesterday, it had to be excitingly obvious that Chief Rovella and his officers are doing something right and the ball is in his court now to keep that momentum going. I have attended a lot of promotion ceremonies over the years and I have to say that yesterday was the best attended that I have ever seen.

 The atrium was full and it was shoulder to shoulder standing room only at the railings on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I think part of it was that Chief Rovella's choices for Deputy Chief's were extremely popular with the rank and file , who showed up to support the new Chief's. There were also many members of the public as well as HPD retirees that showed up to share the sense of optimism that they are feeling in Chief Rovella's vision. He has made tremendous progress in a short period of time and he doesn't seem to be slowing down at all.

 
photo above from Steve Goode  of the Hartford Courant, twitter posting
 
 
As visitors entered City Hall they were treated to a symbolic part of that vision. Three brand new black and white police cruisers were parked at the steps of City Hall, looking like the Christmas display's at Macy's when they highlight their best merchandise at their doorsteps to draw customers in. The cruiser display was the buzz among most people waiting for the new Chief's to march in.

I don't know if itwas planned for the effect it got, but that is exactly what HPD needs to continue doing on a daily basis. There many good things going on that would help build better relationships between the Police and the community, if only the word got out.

I was going shopping at B.J.'s Saturday and when I got off the Flatbush Avenue exit , I saw flashing police lights in front of Walmart. Being nosy, I drove into the lot  to see the HPD Hummer parked at the entrance loaded with toys , rather than another crime incident .It was members of the Hispanic Officer's Association and the HPD Guardians , two fraternal organizations for Black and Hispanic Officers ,conducting a Toy Drive for Hartford's children.

When I dropped of a few toys on my return back from BJ's, one of the officers expressed her displeasure to me when I asked for  details and told me they are doing good things all the time and no one ever knows or hears about it. She told me how they served a couple hundred Thanksgiving Dinners to Hartford residents that would otherwise have gone without the meal on Thanksgiving Day.

As a sidenote, the Toy Drive will continue in front of Walmart tomorrow and next weekend also. Tomorrow the HPD mounted unit will have the horses there also for people to see.. Unwrapped toys will  gladly be accepted.

Now back to the marketing. Have any of you heard about the "Faith Based Initiative" that is being developed under the direction of Chief Rovella and  members of the Hartford City Council? Probably not since no one from the media has covered it, but I have to also say they may not have been invited. The Faith Based Initiative is a simple idea that will probably produce huge results down the road.

In a snapshot, it is trying to gets Hartford's Churches and members to take ownership for a small area around their buildings and neighborhoods, both to victims of violence and potential problem youth.. Chief Rovella frequently refers to the "moral compass" of Hartford's Youth and keeping that compass in line. That is where the Church communities will come into play in identifying potential problems and provide the mentoring and support to break the cycle of violence in Hartford's neighborhoods hopefully. I have attended all three planning meetings and it is a great group with some solid ideas that need to now be put into action.

I know I am oversimplifying it, but it is something that shows Hartford can turn it's problems around with solid partnerships, but people need to know what is going on so they can support it and get involved. At the last meeting hosted by the Archdiocese of Hartford at Saint Thomas Seminary, I half jokingly mentioned that there was no media present to cover the planning session, but if someone got shot all the live trucks would be there immediately to cover it.

Has anyone heard about Chief Rovella's Domestic Violence initiative that starts Monday? Probably not because there has been no coverage that I am aware of. Again a basic idea, but Domestic Violence calls eat up a huge amount of HPD resources. And paraphrasing here and not speaking for Chief Rovella, the way it has been explained to me is that it is about breaking the cycle of domestic violence in Hartford's families.

I think the focus is going to be working with youth and the victims of domestic violence to keep the next generation of adults from feeling domestic violence is acceptable because they grew up seeing it.
Four detectives are being reassigned as of Monday to begin the initiative in an attempt to curb Hartford's incidents of domestic violence.

I know the media plays a huge role in the negative sensationalism coverage that Hartford gets. Yellow crime scene tape and bodies in the street draw more viewers an sell more papers than toys for children being loaded in a cruiser. A police officer stealing lobsters gets far more attention and comments than 5 positive promotions to Deputy Chief, but that is where marketing and relationships  need to come into play.

Churning out press releases won't dot it alone. Someone needs to have the guts to lay down the gauntlet to the media. If you are going to call when you want the negative information, you better take the call and produce results when HPD wants the positive information put out also. It needs to be a two way street, beneficial to both sides.

I think the goodwill is running high right now and now is the time to take advantage. With violent crime and homicide stats possibly being the lowest they have been in 30 years, the message needs to get to our media partners that HPD is moving, not just into a new building but in a new direction.

Next Saturday, December 8th, the next meeting of the Faith Based Initiative planners will be hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church at 120 Sigourney Street from 9:00am until noon, let's see if there is any media coverage and which outlets are willing to jump on the good news also.