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In Clearfield ... County in legal quandry over payroll records
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
By Jeff Corcino Staff Writer
The Clearfield County Commissioners are caught in a legal conundrum over the release of payroll records pertaining to the construction of the ethanol plant in Clearfield.
At yesterday's commissioners' meeting, county Solicitor Kim Kesner reported that on July 30 Rick Tomlinson of the Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters requested all the certified payroll documents pertaining to the Bionol Ethanol Clearfield Plant, arguing that these documents fall within the state's new Right to Know Act because the ethanol plant received approximately $14 million in state grant funds.
The county denied the union's request, stating that the county could not comply because it did not possess the documents requested.
The union's attorney Marianne Oliver of the law firm of Gilardi Cooper and Lomupo of Pittsburgh filed an appeal to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records on Aug. 25. On Sept. 28, the office ruled in the union's favor stating that although the legislature did not include language on how a government agency could retrieve records in the possession of a third party contractor or what could be done if the contractor refused, the requested payroll documents are public records and directed the county to provide them or appeal the decision to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days.
On Oct. 6, Kesner said he contacted Bionol Clearfield's attorney Peter Carlucci Jr. of Eckert Seaman of Harrisburg, informing him of the decision and requesting the documents. Carlucci told him that he doesn't believe his client would fight the ruling and would comply.
Kesner said he spoke again on Oct. 19 with Carlucci and he gave a similar answer.
However, yesterday morning before the commissioners' meeting, Kesner said he received a letter from Carlucci stating that there are approximately 6,000 pages of documents involved in the request and noted the company has to go through all of them to redact the Social Security numbers of employees from the documents. He said it would cost the company approximately $1 per page to produce the documents and requested that $6,000 be paid up front before any documents are produced and stated the company would submit a bill for any additional costs over this amount.
State law does not allow the county to charge more than 25 cents per page for copies of records in its possession. However, since the documents are not in the county's possession, he isn't sure what can be charged for them.
Kesner said he attempted to contact the union's attorney yesterday morning to ask what their position was but was unable to reach her.
The problem is that the county could face civil penalties if it fails to produce the requested documents or file an appeal. The commissioners then adjourned to an executive session for approximately 20 minutes to discuss the matter in private with Kesner.
After returning the commissioners authorized Kesner to file an appeal today with the Court of Common Pleas in Clearfield County if he is unable to receive assurances from both parties that they would not seek civil penalties against the county.
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