From my seat on the Ledyard Town Council

The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) was established in 1975 to promote open government by ensuring citizens access to the records and meetings of public agencies in the State of Connecticut. Volunteer and paid officials often find themselves in trouble when they don’t follow Freedom of Information procedures. In small local governments, like Ledyard, when the FOI Act is violated it is usually not a deliberate act but due to ignorance of the law. Typically when that happens, the FOI Commission requires an educational session to be held. I try to attend these (I’ve been to 3) simply to be sure I understand the more confusing parts of the act. Thomas Hennick, Public Education Officer of the FOI Commission does a nice job as an educator by using the right mix of seriousness and humor. Mr. Hennick, a public official himself in a small town, tosses in a few real examples of violations to keep the session interesting.  He was in Ledyard a few months back after some complaints (my own included) that the Zoning Commission entered an executive session illegibly. I wasn’t trying to be the bad guy but would prefer the town stay out of trouble.

Which brings me to this week. My mailbox and voice mail have had a small flurry of complaints about perceived Freedom of Information violations in Ledyard specifically as it pertains to obtaining documents. I understand the burden gathering requested documents can put on a town, but The Act is pretty specific on the topic of public access to records. It is all spelled out in Section 1-210 . You can also call Mr. Hennick at (866) 374-3617 or by email at foi@ct.gov. I do plan to follow up on the complaints to be sure the Town of Ledyard Government (that includes me) is making its best effort in providing requested documents in a timely manner.