Public bodies that do public business are supposed to make most documents available to the public. But in one Northern Virginia town, the town government is trying to shield documents related to a data center.
More than 3,000 emails are at issue in a case currently on the docket at the Fauquier Circuit Court, where many people in the community want to know more about a proposed Amazon data center. At issue is language in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act that says the town of Warrenton can withhold emails from the mayor or the town manager, but not both -- like they're trying to do now.
"We in the press, and hopefully in the public, think that the comings and goings of these public bodies ought to be utterly transparent," says Peter Cary, a reporter at the Fauquier Times. "We elect these people, and then the people we elect hire the other people. They are our public servants, and what they do should be serving the public, and we ought to know about it."
Legal expert Rich Kelsey says at least some of those 3,000 emails are going to end up in the public domain.
"If I were reviewing this, I would read that exemption as narrowly as possible and I would find in favor of sunshine — opening these up, and letting people see what work is being done behind closed doors. But we can't ignore a statute that does in fact provide some level of exemption," according to Kelsey
This November, voters in Warrenton will be selecting a new town council. They might end up releasing these documents to the public before the Fauquier Circuit Court has an opportunity to make a decision in the case.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
