Paper chase : Sheriff Ferguson refutes candidate Andy Lee’s claims concerning charges for FOIA documents.
Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008
BENTONVILLE - Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson said his office's procedure of charging for certain Freedom of Information Act requests is no different than his predecessor's - Andy Lee - who is one of the sheriff's opponents in the upcoming election.
Ferguson is referring to an FOIA request that Lee filed with the Benton County Sheriff's Office. Lee sought information concerning the number of felony drug arrests made by the BCSO's narcotics unit.
BCSO Maj. Gene Drake previously said the request took about eight hours of manpower and produced 2, 231 pages. Lee was charged 10 cents per page, which totaled $ 223. 10.
A box containing the documents remained at the Sheriff's Office for a couple of months.
Lee was quoted in The Daily Record last week, stating that the office did not charge for FOIA requests while he was sheriff.
Ferguson provided receipts showing that the Sheriff's Office did charge individuals for FOIA requests when Lee was sheriff.
"I wanted to respond to (Lee's ) comment in the paper," Ferguson said. "I believe he charged people for FOIAs. It's going to be hard for him to deny that it came from his office, even though he denied it in the paper."
Lee said he did not remember charging for FOIAs, but he did not dispute the accuracy of the receipts.
"I'm surprised to hear that there was a charge in 2000," Lee said. "We could never come up with the actual costs for copies."
Lee said his objections were never about the money, but he wanted the Sheriff's Office to provide him with the actual reproduction costs, as called for by the FOIA.
Lee said he believes the receipt also shows that his office did charge the actual costs, instead of 10 cents per page, because one receipt was for $ 1. 08, and another was for $ 1. 01.
"I didn't pick it up because I was hoping he (Ferguson ) would revisit the issue and provide me with the itemized cost," Lee said.
On Monday, Lee picked up the documents, paying $ 223. 10.
"I honored my requests and went in and paid my dues," Lee said.
Ferguson, Lee and Kelley Cradduck will face each other in the May 20 Republican primary for sheriff.
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