NorCo Refuses to Produce Any Emails With Cost Control Consultant

According to the Commonwealth Court, our Right To Know Law is "designed to promote access to official government information in order to prohibit secrets, scrutinize the actions of public officials and make public officials accountable for their actions.” But in The People's Republic of Northampton County, it might as well be called the Right-Not-To-Know Law. Northampton County is refusing to supply any of the emails between its staff and an outside cost control consultant. It's the same outfit that advised Executive John Brown to help balance his budget by squeezing the worker. The County would prefer to keep the public in the dark

The C3 Group, a Scranton area-based company, is the cost control consultant that Northampton County Executive John Brown hired to come up with a new health care plan that digs deep into the pockets of county workers. Its employees sat in in several meetings with employees to discuss these reductions.. In response to questions at one meeting, C3 employee Colin Healey told a worker, "Nobody subpoenaed you to work here."

On October 9, I filed a RTK request with the County seeking the following:

1) All Contracts between Northampton County and C3 Group, LLC, from the time Executive John Brown was installed to the present.

2) All email correspondence between C3Group, LLC, representatives and andy [sic] employees of Northampton County during 2014.

RTK Officer, Daniel O'Donnell, Esq., invoked an automatic 30-day extension until November 15. He then responded timely, on November 14. He supplied the three contracts about which I've already written.  But he refuses to produce a single email.

Not one.

He raises seven different exemptions outlined in Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. He claims disclosure will reveal medical histories; labor relations and negotiations; drafts of policies; internal, predecisional deliberations; insurance proposals; notes prepared by county employees for personal use; and risk management related documents.

That's bullshit.  There is simply no way that all emails are privileged, nor do I believe most of these exemptions are applicable. They are simply speed blocks thrown up by an administration that lacks transparency.

This denial will be appealed. I will demanding in camera review, which means the County is going to have to produce all emails for inspection by the Office of Open Records.

The one exemption I find particularly insulting is the claim that these emails are part of labor negotiations. Negotiations require more than one person. Brown's problem all along has been his refusal to negotiate. he just waved his sceptre and imposed draconian health plan reductions unilaterally.

Also, it's amazing that he could call these internal predecisional deliberations. The C3 Group is not part of the County government. The company is an external company, as are all the other consultants he's hired.