Hale, Parks debate open records formats
An argument ensued between resident Kimberlie Parks and Town attorney Tom Hale during the attorney’s report at Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s meeting Thursday, Nov. 13.
Parks, in the citizens’ forum part of the meeting, questioned the format of open records she has been receiving from the Town.
“I have been going back and forth with the Town administrator about open records,” she said. “I have specifically asked for some of my records in e-mail format to be contained in their original state because it would make it easier for me to read it.
“I only reviewed part of my last open records request,” Parks said, noting she received PDF files, which were renamed “so I can’t even match up the attachments with the e-mails.
“I have no idea what they even are,” she added. “I really feel like I should be able to have them in their original file format, which would be easier technically.
“I don’t understand what the push-back on it is,” Parks added.
“I’m happy to work with Ms. Parks on her records request to try to get any records to her in the appropriate manner,” Town administrator David Smoak said.
Town attorney Tom Hale addressed Parks’ issues with her open records requests relating to “the form in which we produce documents.
“Ms. Parks stated she wants documents produced in negative form, which is the way they appear on the computer, which would allow anyone who looks at those documents to manipulate them or change them,” Hale said. “We have an Open Records Act (and) Open Records Counsel.
“Tennessee Annotated has a provision that requires the Office of Open Records Counsel to establish a model of best practices and public records policy for use by records custodian in compliance with responding to complaints or requests for records,” he said.
In looking at the policy, Hale said the counsel advises municipalities “when records are maintained electronically, the records custodian should produce requested documents electronically … as a means of utilizing the most economical and efficient method.
“It is recommended that records custodian provide records in a secure format,” he said. “A custodian is not obligated to provide the record in a format that can be manipulated.
“For example, a word document can be provided to a requestor in PDF format,” Hale said. “That is what we generally do when we give these records to anybody. We do not give them the ability to manipulate a record that is produced.
“To the extent that somebody in the Town has produced records that are not in a secure format is because they did not know that the requirement is that you don’t produce those documents in that format,” the attorney said. “You do it in a PDF format.
“As far as I’m aware, I’ve not seen any request where the record requested was the record that would show things in the record that is not part of the record,” Hale said. “The records that have been provided to Ms. Parks are the records.”
What Ms. Parks wants is she wants to see … things in a record that, I guess, could be created if somebody wanted to create that, but that’s not what’s been requested.
“So, you’ve gotten what you asked for, Ms. Parks, and we’ve given you this citation, and you want to argue about whether or not the Open Records Counsel has authority to interpret the act,” Hale said. “They have the authority adopt these best practices, and that’s what we’re following.”
She started to speak but Hale told Parks, “you already had your chance to speak.”
“May I say something?” Parks asked.
“No … You’ve already had your chance to speak,” Hale said.
“You’re speaking to me,” she said.
“I’m responding to your concern or the thing you’re raising,” Hale said.
“You’re saying inaccurate things because you cannot manipulate an .MSG file,” she replied. “It’s not a word document. Then, if you can do an .MSG file, you can do a PDF as well.
“Trust me, I’m the last person you want to ask a technology question about,” Hale said. “But, I do know you can change documents presented in Word. That’s the whole purpose of having …”
“That’s not what an MSG file is,” Parks said.
“I don’t know what it is,” he said. “All I know I’m saying is you are getting a PDF,” he said while Parks spoke at the same time and Mayor Ron Williams hit the gavel.
“To the extent you have technical questions above my expertise, I’ll admit we’ll maybe need to get an expert to respond, but you’re not entitled to have documents that you can manipulate,” Hale said. “That’s what we understand you’ve been asking for.”
Parks replied, “I’m not asking for anything to manipulate. You’re presenting it that way and making me look like some kind of villain.”
“The documents we’re giving you have the content you’re asking for,” Hale said.
“I’m not trying to manipulate anything,” Parks repeated. “I’m making sure they’re accurate. I’ve caught people changing things.”
“You come in here and you say people change things,” Hale said. “And, I dispute that. If they had been, then you need to prove it and quit coming in here … saying people are doing things that you have no evidence to prove.”
Parks replied she had a First Amendment right to speak.
“The problem is people in this Town work hard to make this place work like it’s working, and it doesn’t help when people come down here and say people are changing documents,” Hale said.
“I’m not saying they are,” Parks said. “Maybe they should be reviewed … go back through training.”
In a separate interview, Parks said her request was very simple.
“I asked the Town of Farragut for copies of certain e-mails in the format the Town actually maintains them in: MSG files,” she said. “This is the standard e-mail file format used by Microsoft Outlook and most government e-mail systems.
“I don’t know why they don’t give it to me,” Parks said. “I asked for the original files because they contain important information like:
• timestamps;
• sender/recipient information, “like the BCC is usually not included in PDF files when converting them. I would need them in MSG to see who the BCC is.
• routing data and
• metadata showing whether anything was added, removed or altered.”
In the separate interview, Parks said, “I stated people change records. I never said the Town did in this meeting.
“I have caught records keepers changing records before but I wasn’t referring to the Town,” she said .”It’s unrelated. I just know that without the .MSG, file I can’t verify if they changed it or not.
“This is the only way to confirm whether e-mails were exchanged as claimed,” Parks added. “Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-4-604(d) is very clear.
“It requires: ‘The requestor be given the option of receiving information in any format in which it is maintained by the agency.’ So if the Town keeps an e-mail as an .MSG file, citizens have the legal right to receive it as an .MSG file.
That is all I was pointing out,” she said.
Parks also said, during the meeting, Hale “made several claims that are not accurate.
“He said the Town is not obligated to provide records in the original format,” she said. “This contradicts § 8-4-604(d).
According to Parks, Hale said metadata is “not part of the record.”
However, she said, “metadata is part of any electronic record by definition. County Technical Assistance Service states that records may be maintained in electronic form and references T.C.A. § 10-7-121.
“He said .MSG files “can be manipulated,” Parks said. “This is false; .MSG files cannot be edited without corrupting them.
“PDFs are far easier to alter,” Parks said. “ When trying to manipulate an MSG file, it tracks the alterations, meaning no one can do so without being caught.”
“He said PDFs are the ‘secure’ format,” Parks said. “That is not correct. Converting records to PDF actually removes metadata and makes the record less secure when converting it to a new file.
“He admitted he didn’t
know what an .MSG file is, but still gave technical opinions about it.”
