all departments. Training through the NHMA should be happening throughout City government, with a staff
member in each department responsible for handling requests for information. Each department should be
capable of determining what reports and documents are public and which may be restricted and why.
Hopefully, the lawyers would only have to get involved in complicated situations.
Why do | believe a decentralized approach is even possible? This approach was working smoothly in the
Assessing office for 20 years until the Director of Administrative Services took over in May 2019 and
dismantled the function that specifically handled public requests for information.
Between September 2018 and May 2019, | was working with the Assessing clerical staff member whose job
description was to fill public requests for information. The staff member was trained in Right-To-Know through
the NHMA. It was simple and produced professional, timely responses. No one was complaining.
The Director of Administrative Services ordered a change in responding to public information requests in
2019. The legal office took over the process, were not familiar with the information requested, conducted
minimal searches in an attempt to fill the request and in the end, could not respond to the request in a timely
manner. Hiring a $100,000 per annum lawyer will exacerbate, not solve the problems.
The Personnel Committee did not vet this position. The Committee spent approximately 3 minutes to vote
“yes” on a $100,000 permanent position, while spending 60 minutes discussing a revision to the facemask
ordinance. If the City is intent on hiring for this position, then we should at least have answers to these
questions before making a final decision:
1) What is the job description for this position?
2) How will the public interface with this position?
3) Will a temporary position suffice until Departments and Divisions are RTK trained?
4) Will the School and Police Departments have all Right-To-Know requests going through legal?
5) Why is the city establishing a centralized permanent system when department employees
have the expertise and knowledge to know what reports and records are available?
6) Explain what the current process and the future process will look like when a citizen submits a
request for information.
Please email the Aldermen at boa@nashuanh.gov and ask them to send this new position back to committee
for review. Support a decentralized Right-to-Know system that is efficient, cost effective, customer friendly
and responsive. Our local newspapers have been leaders in mounting legal challenges to open records. These
struggling businesses may no longer be resourced to pursue these challenges so let’s work together asa
community to make sure records that should be public and accessible remain that way. Open societies and
those who temporarily govern them should not be afraid to let in the fresh air.
Laurie Ortolano
41 Berkeley St.
Nashua, NH 03064
