Clerk of Courts Dwight Brock stonewalls public records access to audit procedures manual, audit report document with illegal $536 fee

Clerk of Courts Dwight Brock is stonewalling access to public records by imposing an excessive and illegal fee for county documents in response to a public records request by Naples City Desk.

Naples City Desk, the digital newspaper that publishes at WatchdogCity.com, sent a letter of protest to Brock on Tuesday.

Brock’s Office is charging Naples City Desk a $556 fee in response to its Feb. 7 public records request for an electronic scanned copy of Brock’s audit policy and procedures manual, and for a scanned electronic copy of an email attachment referenced in a consultant’s report and the response by Brock’s staff to that document.

Brock imposed a $1 per page fee for non-court records on Naples City Desk on Feb. 14, following the news organization’s press coverage critical of Brock’s Office published on Feb. 11.

Florida’s Government in the Sunshine Manual, on pages 167 and 168, specifically states that a Clerk of Courts cannot charge $1 a page for non-court and non-official records. The Sunshine Manual further references two Attorney General Opinions that prohibit this fee. The Florida public records law, F.S. 119, sets forth copying charges for county documents at 15 cents a page.

“The $1 per page fee that your office seeks to impose on a member of the public and press to obtain these documents is an illegal violation of the public records act, F.S. 119, which sets forth copying charges of these county documents at 15 cents per page,” Naples City Desk reporter Gina Edwards wrote in a letter to Brock.

“Clearly, these documents are not judicial records nor are they Official records. Rather they are county records created pursuant to your role as ex officio clerk, accountant and auditor to the Board of County Commissioners pursuant to F.S. 125.17.”

Previously, Brock’s office communicated that the typical policy for obtaining electronic copies of county public records from his office is that the first two hours of staff time to copy electronic public records is free for members of the public, and the charge for the CD containing the records is $1.

Brock’s Office charged Naples City Desk only $2 for 2 CDs that contained hundreds of pages of audit work papers created by Brock’s Office in the past month — prior to publication of stories about Brock’s audit of the non-profit organization founded by his former political opponent. (See Naples City Desk stories: “Appraisals reviewed by Brock’s own staff 2 years ago document construction Brock says not proven” and “Elected auditor Brock sics law enforcement on 2012 political challenger over housing grant.”)

“Your action in this matter and this policy by your office significantly harms the public’s right to know in Collier County,” Edwards wrote to Brock. “This new fee policy for county records now appears to be retaliatory in nature, illegal, and an arbitrary exercise of power by your office. Is there one rate for citizens and members of the press you like and another rate for citizens and members of the press who you don’t like?”

Naples City Desk urged Brock to publish the audit policy and procedures manual for his office online so that any member of the public can access it for free.

Read Reporter Gina Edward's letter to Brock and background correspondence by clicking here. 

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Related In-depth Story:

Elected auditor Brock sics law enforcement on 2012 political challenger over housing grant as critics cry political payback and abuse of office

Naples City Desk investigation: Internal documents show Brock allegations false, misleading

Reporting by: Gina Edwards

About: Gina Edwards, is a national-award winning investigative reporter who has covered Naples and Collier County for more than a decade.

Dateline: Naples, Fla., Feb. 18, 2014

Contact Gina Edwards at 239-514-1336 or by email at ginavossedwards@gmail.com