Media, records experts weigh in on proposal that would charge $750 if request required legal review

BOARDMAN — The Columbia Development Authority Board of Directors is considering a new public records request policy in the wake of spending a lot of time and money fulfilling requests in 2024.

The board, however, did not  make any major decisions during its meeting May 20.

CDA Executive Director Greg Smith presented a draft proposal for a new public records request policy that would allow for free inquiries — of one item each — but then the CDA would charge $25 starting with the third inquiry. Inquiries from media outlets would have a flat $50 rate.

And any inquiry requiring legal review would add $750 per hour to cover the associated attorney fees.

In 2024, the CDA had trouble between its board and executive director after an inaccurate grant led to significant unauthorized salary increases for staff members. The organization then received numerous public records requests. The board asked Smith to waive any fees.

In 2023-24, the cost of records requests to the CDA was $4,234, according to Smith. In 2024-25, that cost went up to $93,501. Smith attributed it to legal fees associated with reviewing each request.

Now, the organization has almost no funding.

The CDA in February lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grant money because of the lack of oversight from its fiscal agent at the time, the Port of Morrow, which came to light after some of the records requests.

However, the word “inquiry” holds a different meaning than “request,” as the Greater Oregon Society of Professional Journalists pointed out in an email to Smith. SPJ’s Sunshine Chair Nick Budnick said the change in language serves to “deter healthy communication from the public as well as improperly discourage access to clearly public records.”

Budnick also noted the proposal failed to include mention of a fee waiver, something Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran, CDA board alternate, mentioned as well. The proposed form indicates public records requests are used to address “‘curiosity’ rather than recognizing the intent” of the requests to ensure transparency for the public “as a core function of government,” Budnick wrote.

Smith presented the proposal during an informational report with a possible work session. He told the board he “ spent a bunch of time looking at different state agencies” when formatting it, though he was looking for feedback on how to move forward.

During the meeting, Board Chair Kim Puzy with the Port of Umatilla suggested requesting feedback from local media outlets on the policy. Other board members agreed.

Since then, Todd Albert, the state’s public records advocate, said via email he saw “areas of concern” in the policy and suggested “edits are warranted as CDA is subject to the public records law via agreement.”

Smith responded to the emails from Albert and Budnick by saying the CDA welcomes their input.

“We desire to be open and transparent. We also want to make sure the public has full access to any and all information they seek,” he said May 21. “Simultaneously, we are trying to create a streamlined policy that is simple to implement and does not place an undue financial burden on the citizens of Morrow and Umatilla counties.”

Besides the public record discussion, the CDA heard general director updates from Smith, who mentioned his concerns about the CDA’s available funds and credit, as well as new details about the fire service provider and the litigation from Umatilla County. The board also considered what to do about the budget committee-approved budget for fiscal year 2025-26 and decided to take it back to their individual boards for feedback.