M.Gates - August 23, 2024 - Requesting Copies of City Bank and Credit Card Statements

550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680 August 23, 2024 The Honorable Marsha Gates Councilwoman, City of Okolona 301 Middle Street Okolona, Mississippi 38860 Re: Requesting Copies of City Bank and Credit Card Statements Dear Ms. Gates: The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion. Background According to your request, you have asked the Okolona City Clerk (“Clerk”) to provide you with paper copies of bank and credit card statements from June 2021 to the present. You were told that you would have to pay for the requested statements. As we understand it, the question is whether these records are needed for your official duties as a councilwoman. The Clerk’s office is treating the request as a request by a private citizen and, in accordance with its public records policy, is requesting payment due to the amount of time necessary to complete the request. The city of Okolona (“City”) is a special charter municipality. Question Presented Does an elected official have to pay for copies of the City’s bank and credit card statements? Brief Response An elected official does not have to pay for copies of records if the governing authorities determine that the requested access is reasonable and that the records are required for the elected official to perform his or her official duties. Hon. Marsha Gates August 23, 2024 Page 2 550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680 Applicable Law and Discussion As an initial matter, official opinions of this office are issued on prospective questions of law pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated Section 7-5-25. We cannot make factual determinations by official opinion. Further, if the City’s special charter speaks to the issue at hand, then the charter controls. See MS AG Op., Gaylor at *1 (Dec. 15, 2006) (“[W]here the provisions of a special charter conflict with general law[,] . . . the specific provisions of a municipal special charter will take precedence over the provisions of general municipal law.”); MS AG Op., Lowe at * 1 (Feb. 13, 2009) (“[P]rovisions of a private or special charter that are contrary to general statutory provisions are viewed by this office as exceptions to the statutory provisions except where the general statutes expressly provide otherwise.”). Assuming that the City’s special charter is silent on your question, we offer the following for prospective purposes. This office has consistently opined that members of a municipal governing body “are entitled to reasonable access, without charge, to information required to perform the duties of their office.” MS AG Op., Tindell at *2 (Feb. 24, 2017) (internal citations omitted); see also MS AG Op., Holcomb at *1 (July 11, 2022) (opining that “records may only be accessed for lawful purposes”); MS AG Op., Manley (Dec. 3, 2019) (stating that what is reasonable and timely access to information is a factual determination to be made by the municipality). Whether copies of the City’s bank and credit card statements from 2021 forward are required to perform the duties of councilwoman and whether the access is reasonable are factual determinations that must be made by the City Council (“Council”), subject to judicial review. If the Council determines that requested access is unreasonable or that the records are not required to perform the duties of councilwoman, the records may be requested according to the City’s public records policy as referenced in your request. We suggest that you consult your municipal attorney for legal advice regarding compliance with any applicable municipal policies or ordinances. If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL By: /s/ Beebe Garrard Beebe Garrard Special Assistant Attorney General