Anyone have $2,300 to spare? That's how much the office of Governor Rick Perry estimates it's going to cost to fulfill John Washburn's public information requests for about two weeks worth of the Governor's office emails.
If you are new to the blog, a quick summary:
In state offices, emails are considered public records. Perry's office policy (dating back to Governor Bush in 1999) is to delete internal emails after seven days. Individual staffers decide which emails need to be kept longer for the public record. This weekend, the Star-Telegram's editorial board weighed in...
But who's to know whether crucial missives are being tossed with the trivial? What if a staffer's e-mails setting up lunch are relevant to, say, improper contacts with lobbyists? What if a staffer's non-job-related e-mails reveal conduct unbecoming a state employee?Twice a week for the last three weeks, open government crusader John Washburn has sent out a TPIA request for the governor's office emails, excluding constituent mail. He received an itemized response from the Governor's Deputy General Counsel this week, with charges for FOUR DAYS worth of emails:
31.5 hours of staff time at $15/hour = $472.50 (to compile and redact emails)
Overhead at 20% of staff charge = $94.50
CD for compiled material = $1
TOTAL for four days worth of emails = $568
The letter from the Governor's office once again encourages Washburn to narrow his request to save money.
