Just this last week, Coeur d’ lene, Idaho city officials denied Wayne Hoffman his public records request that would release the full names of city employees along with their salaries.
Mike Gridley, the cities’ legal consultant, lets us know that if he were to hand over the first names of the city employees, this would violate state law by releasing gender.
This is the cities’ own special interpretation of the law, even though in Title 9 340 C, there is no reference to gender. In fact section 8 of that law specifically states that personal information, other than names, is public. Gridley is trying to reinvent the wheel, forcing a lawsuit to release the full names, hoping that his spin on the law will sit well with the “Judge” and give government workers special exemptions, including their first names form public disclosure. It might also give the city some time to fix a mess that they may be hiding.
Wayne Hoffman, Director for the Idaho Freedom Foundation sums it up here.
Coeur d’Alene’s ruling makes it impossible to analyze an employee’s pay increases each year. Are those increases normal or abnormal? Are the mayor’s buddies getting big raises while good employees languish? You can’t tell unless you can make comparisons, and no accurate comparison can be made unless you can match names. Under Coeur d’Alene’s interpretation of law, it’s impossible to determine if raises are too high or too low, if women are being paid on par with men, if nepotism is occurring, whether the employees who have been hired have the right credentials or whether an employee has a criminal record.
Just last week, I caught the City of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho on cable discussing this issue. Mike Kennedy, city councilman, backed up the cities’ legal opinion and they agreed that the “guy” would have to sue. (I would assume that is Hoffman, but the city did not disclose a name, however they made reference to his “background.”) Gee, you “guys” what are you trying to tell the public here? Obviously, nothing!
Now, what a pickle the city is in, the city can refer to no government employee in their public meetings with first names, if they stand behind their own interpretation of the law, not to mention all the first names that are public on ISTARS – the Idaho Judiciary Data Repository. Gee, what a great case against the State of Idaho if first names are considered personal instead of public information and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho sets some bizarre precedence over first names and they become confidential. I know, it’s a long shot, but remember one thing. This is Idaho.
The City of Excellence (Coeur d’Alene) is now the City of No Names.
Additionally, I would like to make a reference to the World Health Organization concerning the interepretation of “gender.”
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