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John Foust - JCEDC Disbands

 

JCEDC Disbands

by

[in progress]

At the beginning of 2002, the Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC) was without a contract from the County.  In previous years, they'd received $71,000 a year.

In September, the JCEDC Board voted to disband if County funding and a contract had not been secured by November 15. 

At 4 p.m. October 17, just before the Friday October 18 morning meeting of the Economic Development Committee, the JCEDC submitted to Phil Ristow another response to my April 21, 2001 open records request.  As late as it was, no one had this letter in hand on Friday morning except for a member of the JCEDC Board, who waved it proclaiming that all open records requests had been answered. Here is my response. In general, the JCEDC claims that no records exist at all for nineteen of the items in the contract.

On September 11, 2002, the Economic Development Committee voted 3 to 2 in favor of not forwarding the proposed JCEDC contract to the County Board for approval.  According to chairman Greg David, "The reason for the denial was a lack of agreement on indemnification for the County for a potential lawsuit regarding the open records request. At our previous meeting with JCEDC, a $25,000 withholding from the $71,000 contract was proposed to be withheld from the JCEDC, to be set in a special account, to be used for defense of a potential open records request lawsuit. $25,000 is the amount of the deductible on the County's liability insurance. It was felt that if the JCEDC was going to take the stance they did in regards to the open records request, that they should also accept the liability for their actions."  

Also, the JCEDC sent this letter to County Corporation Counsel Ristow, saying they would not accept any contract that included a requirement for indemnification from any costs associated with their refusal to fulfill records requests.

Vindication from the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office: 
Records should have been surrendered 

On November 20, the Wisconsin Attorney General's office replied to my appeal for the JCEDC records.  In short, they reverse Bucher's opinion, and say the records should have been released.  I sent several County Board members a letter describing the results.

Bucher's record on Open Records

In this January 4 article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher is said to be "regarded as one of the more aggressive in the state on open meetings complaints". Hogwash, I say, in this letter to the editor.