I read with great interest the story the Herald presented about Sunshine Week (March 15). I find it curious that the Herald would make a capricious records request for the sake of a news story, putting the city of Durango staff through three hours of work, and then refuse to pay the charges when Herald staff was well-aware of the potential costs beforehand.
Processing a records request is not a simple task. As stated in the news story, there are items that are exempt from release. This means every document must be reviewed. The more records produced, the more work it takes to prepare the documents for release, resulting in a higher cost.
As a taxpayer, I find the Herald’s actions a waste of city staff’s time and, therefore, taxpayer money. The Herald should pay for what it requested and be embarrassed by its behavior.
Janice Bourret
Durango
