The Complainant alleged the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation ("Corporation") violated the APRA when its pre-payment estimate was unreasonable. This Department concluded that the Corporation's response to the APRA request, as well as the affidavit submitted by the Corporation, conclusively...
Complainant alleged that an agenda item on the Town Council's July 17, 2017 meeting failed to sufficiently specify "the nature of the business to be discussed." R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-6(b). Consistent with Rhode Island Supreme Court precedent, we found that the agenda items "Adoption of 2017/2018...
Legal counsel for the Town of Burrillville and the Rhode Island Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal & Review sought an OMA advisory opinion concerning the interpretation of the recently amended R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-7(d). The amendment provides that "[a]ll public bodies shall keep official and/...
The Complainant alleged that the KHA violated the OMA during its April 3, 2017 meeting when it improperly convened into executive session to discuss the proposed sale of property. Specifically, the Complainant alleged that the KHA property was not "publicly held" pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-...
This supplemental finding addressed whether Complainant's rebuttal altered our finding in Sullivan v. City of Newport, PR 17-38. We found that the Complainant's suggestion that the City should have responded in a narrative manner was not governed by the APRA and that the City's failure to do so...
The Woonsocket City Council ("City Council") violated the OMA when it amended its agenda at one of its meetings to add an additional item, yet not only discussed this item, but also voted on this additional item. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-6(b). This Department found no evidence of a willful and...
The Office of Attorney General filed a complaint in Rhode Island Superior Court citing the Town of North Kingstown for a reckless and/or willing and knowing violation of the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) when the Town failed to respond in a timely manner in accordance with APRA to a March 15,
Complainant alleged that the MBRTF violated the OMA after its July 19, 2017 meeting when it discussed MBRTF business in the parking lot. Although we were presented with conflicting narratives of what transpired in the parking lot on July 19, 2017, we found credible the five-time corroborated...
The Complainant alleged that the Fire District violated the APRA when it withheld a tape recording of a public meeting pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(K) as a "draft[.]" Because the tape recording contained no mental impressions and did not otherwise fall within Exemption (K), we found that...
The Complainant alleged that the City of Warwick violated the APRA when, after he paid the fee associated with his APRA request, the City informed him it would take an additional five (5) to seven (7) days to produce the copies. The Complainant alleged that period of time was unreasonable. The...
