»Lawsuit accuses Austin of violating open records law,
Civic activist Brian Rodgers filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing the city of Austin of violating the state’s open records laws by not responding promptly, or in full, to several public information requests.
The lawsuit points to records Rodgers requested about three controversial issues: the Decker Lake Golf plan at Walter E. Long park; the Downtown Austin Alliance’s efforts to promote the light rail pro- posal; and the city’s efforts to buy state-owned land on Bull Creek, which eventually went to a private developer.
As first reported in the Austin Bulldog, Rodgers’ lawsuit alleges the city has not been forthcoming with the records because it “could be embarrassing to the city,” its management staff and elected officials.
When contacted Friday for comment, city spokesman Bryce Bencivengo said the city is aware of the lawsuit but it is “our practice not to comment on pending litigation.”
In the lawsuit Rodgers said he will “prove that city management completely ignored requests for information, made unauthorized and unex- plained redactions, omitted responsive records” and stalled.
Rodgers has a history of tangling with the city of Austin over open re- cords and open meetings. In 2011, he discovered the City Council was possibly circumventing open meetings laws, which sparked an investigation by Travis County Attorney David Escamilla. Ultimately Escamilla found violations of the open meetings law but didn’t pursue criminal charges.
Rodgers’ lawsuit alleges the city took more than 60 days to provide some records while withholding others altogether. For instance, calendar notices show meetings occurring in 2013 ostensibly about the Decker Lake Golf project, yet no emails were produced about the golf project during that time, the lawsuit says. The complaint asks a judge to order the city to provide all of the requested records.
Mayor Steve Adler said in a statement Friday that he can’t comment on pending litigation.
“But the city of Austin should and must comply with all provisions of the Texas Public Information Act,” Adler said.