But in at least one area, the city staff recommended expanding services - a recommendation that might surprise many of the activists, reporters, and ordinary citizens who have asked for access to the city's public records through the years.
"I believe the [city's] legal department is violating the intent of the open-records law by constantly asking for AG opinions for the same type of documents which they know, or should know, are public records," wrote a local TV news reporter.
A Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter wrote, "I am forced to file way too many open-records requests ... then consider myself blessed if I actually get what I've requested by the 10th day [as required by law]. More often, [the] city legal [department] is asking for an AG opinion, coming up with all kinds of excuses why the information shouldn't be released ... . This is the only city where I feel like I'm constantly fighting this battle."
Keith Elkins, executive director of FOIFT, said it's not clear whether such increased delays and bureaucracy are happening in other states. "But it is clear this overuse of the attorney general's office is costing taxpayers a lot of money," he said. "Cities like Fort Worth are adding to the workload of the AG's office. When you see how the number of ruling the AG's office has to make has spiked, the abuse here is clear."The increasing insistence on formal treatment of open-records requests has been a major factor in Fort Worth's workload in the past decade. But more requests are also coming from private citizens.
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