Council Supports Mendacious Management Policy

San Angelo City Council voted 5-2 to restrict citizen access to Public Information Requests.  It started with a problematic 10 requestors.  However, the target narrowed as the discussion advanced.

"It's three people..."-- Julia Antilley, City Clerk

"If someone say we have a PIR coming, it's one of two people..."--Councilman Tom Thompson

"I know for a fact one individual at times, maybe not this year but previous years will have 7 to 15% of the requests that come through from this one individual....if you are that individual, you know who you are, requesting numerous per year and it's taking up a lot of staff time and it's effecting you, yes you."--Daniel Valenzuela, City Manager

The City of San Angelo implemented a policy to stop this blogger from sharing research with the public. 

City Clerk Antilley shared that local news media do not submit PIRs.  They work through Public Information Officer Brian Groves to get their information needs met.  

San Angelo Live's Joe Hyde said no local media do investigative reporting as it is time consuming and expensive.  That includes local television and newspaper organizations.

The Standard Times once had  Kiah Collier and Matt Waller.  I collaborated with Collier on Mayor New's conflict of interest as member of the board of directors of and investor in MedHab, a recipient of Development Corporation funding.  I worked with Matt on the unauthorized purchase of $100,000 in Water Department furniture, known as the Furniture Fiasco. 

City leaders are richly paid and their job is to serve all citizens.  That is no longer the case for public information requests.  Council allowed yet another service reduction for the convenience of staff, but the rot is deeper than that.  Elected officials are shutting off a source of information.  It appears most Council members only wish to consider information supplied by staff.

Staff referred to "rogue media" and "vexatious requestors."  Despite what staff and five members of City Council may say or believe, truth can come from individual requestors and citizen researchers. 

Mendacious managers don't cotton to folk challenging their narratives, however distorted.  Today, they won.

Update 12-14-22:  The FY 2023 PIR areas I submitted that concerned Council were mostly Animal Services and included:

1. The City's response to PETA letter and letter from area rescues about shutting off dog intake. (I waited two weeks for the city to issue a public response as implied by a Concho Valley Homepage story)
   
2. How much a citizen cited for failure to spay/neuter their pet is expected to pay in total fees and municipal court costs. (not shared in ASAC meeting)
   
3. Changes in shelter staff pay as a result of the management review of shelter operations  (numbers not shared in City Council)
4. Blue Book and Revenue and Expenditure accounting documents for the just ended FY 21-22 (documents were once available on city's website, access removed in 2018)
5. The number of shelter animals surrendered by owner for FY 21-22.  (not included in the ASAC agenda packet for 10-20-22)
6. Why the city changed the time period for giving citations for failure to spay/neuter per city ordinance from August 16, 2022 as indicated in a city press release to a "two year period" as stated by Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden in the 10-20-22 ASAC meeting.  No responsive documents exist
7. The number of dog breeding permits issued by the city for each calendar year from 2016 to the present.
8. Documents showing the two year history of spay/neuter as referenced in another city document. 
9. Animal Shelter's compliance with the city's mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for the just ended fiscal year.  
10. Documents in regard to the city's change in spay/neuter enforcement as announced on 10-6-22  

Update 12-21-22:   I asked Public Information Officer Brian Groves to clarify City Manager Valenzuela's statement.  Groves replied that he had no information.

Valenzuela wrote he would neither confirm or deny if it was me he was referencing in his "one individual" comment. 

Update 1-12-23:  City staff informed Council that it needed to restrict citizen access to public information so it would not have to hire part time staff to assist with public information requests.  The city posted a part time job in the City Clerk's office with that very duty.

Update 1-13-23:  The lack of local investigative news capability helped bring the U.S. Congressman George Santos.  Accountability remains important and that's the aim of this blogger.