The Smoky Mountain News has sent various public record requests throughout the past month to Swain County administration, all of which remain unfulfilled.
Swain County’s official YouTube recording of a May 5 commission meeting begins mid-sentence of a presentation to the board. Resident Courtney Dills alleged an exchange occurred that day which was edited out of the recording, and at various points throughout the video, commissioners and audience members alike referenced earlier developments uncontextualized by the uploaded version.
SMN requested the unaltered recording on May 20 from Administrative Assistant Cyndi Jenkins, as well as all correspondence between Swain County IT staff/personnel and now-outgoing county manager Lottie Barker from May 5 to May 19 of this year and a copy of all draft minutes from meetings occurring between April 20 and present, including special work sessions and special meetings to discuss county budget.
SMN sent a follow-up email on June 4, reiterating the importance of the request to public knowledge. Jenkins provided acknowledgement of receipt to the May 20 and June 4 email. SMN sent another message on June 11, this time also to Interim County Manager Tommy Dills.
“Please send all by end of day Tuesday, June 16. If you are unable to do so, please send a reasonable, prompt timeline indicating when each request will be fulfilled and outlining plans to adhere to dates specified,” it stated.
Also on June 11, SMN requested additional records from Dills and Jenkins related to concerns about Department of Social Services activity at the “stump dump” raised by Swain resident John Herrin. This included correspondences related to disposal of DSS records and hazardous materials at the stump dump, any documents referencing the stump dump and any internal investigation, report or communication triggered by these allegations.
The newspaper also sent a June 11 request to DSS and the maintenance department for materials related to the incident, including permits, internal communication and external inquiries. A follow-up email was sent June 16 to DSS. SMN did not receive a single response.
By contrast, the U.S. Forest Service acknowledged receipt within two days of logging an SMN request for the facility’s permit along with associated correspondence and time-specific violations.
On June 17, SMN called County Attorney Kim Carpenter to explain the public records situation related to the LCID facility and meeting video. Carpenter called back later that day with assurances that she’d spoken to Dills and would review the request herself.
On June 19, SMN sent a follow-up email pertaining to LCID records to maintenance director Jerry Jenkins. That day, the newspaper again reiterated both its request for LCID and video alteration records to Dills and Cyndi Jenkins.
North Carolina public records law requires requested materials to be made available “at reasonable times and under reasonable supervision by any person … as promptly as possible,” though it does not specify what “as promptl y as possible” means.