Submitted by San Juan County
San Juan County has resolved Public Records Act claims made by John Geniuch, the former Building Official, related to four public records requests he made in 2015. Mr. Geniuch accepted an offer of judgment in the amount of $85,000 plus reasonable attorney’s fees.
The quick resolution of these the public records claims avoids the need for protracted litigation and the associated attorney’s fees. “This is a big number, but litigation is expensive, so the objective is to assess the potential liability and take action to minimize the risk to taxpayers,” said Prosecuting Attorney Randall Gaylord.
Gaylord added that over the last six months the County has taken multiple steps to streamline its PRA response process, and has made significant investment in new software, training, and staffing resources to meet the ever-growing volume of requests that it receives. In 2010, the County received 109 requests. This number grew five-fold in just five years to 561 requests in 2015, and the County is on pace to receive even more requests this year.
The County, like other public agencies across the state, have ever-growing demands regarding PRA requests. Not only has the volume of requests for electronic records become more robust, the complexity and breadth of these requests means it takes more time and resources to fulfill the requests. The County values transparency, and will continue to do its best to make sure that PRA requests are fulfilled in a timely manner.
This action leaves just one claim by Mr. Geniuch against the County related to his separation from employment. The County denies any wrongdoing related to Mr. Geniuch’s employment claim.
In another public records lawsuit brought by Lopez resident Edward Kilduff, the superior court judge has ruled that the county has a procedure for administrative review of decisions on requests for public records and using the procedure is necessary before filing suit.
Gaylord said, “the County Council has said they want citizens to know that the primary objective in public records request is to get documents to the public. If someone thinks we made a mistake, they should tell the prosecuting attorney before going to court.”
The case involving Mr. Kilduff has had a letter ruling made by Judge Eaton but that is now subject to reconsideration and a final decision is expected in a month.
