Violations: Blue Ridge Housing Authority accused
The Blue Ridge Housing Authority (BRHA) is facing accusations of violating Georgia’s Open Records Act after denying a Fannin County resident access to requested documents due to a disputed policy on pick-up times.
Laura Sisson, who had submitted an Open Records Request (ORR) to the BRHA, was denied access to the documents she sought when she arrived to pick them up at 3:15 p.m., outside the authority’s designated window of 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.
According to BRHA Executive Director Traver Aiken, Sisson was informed of these pick-up hours multiple times. “As it pertains to the collection of her requests, she (Sisson) has been informed, on seven prior occasions, that the pick-up times are only Monday through Fridays 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.,” said Aiken. “Each response I send for the collection of any request states this information.”
However, under the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.), state law mandates that public records must be accessible during the normal office hours of the agency holding the records. The law explicitly states: “Public records must be available for inspection and copying during the office hours of the agency holding the records,” ensuring that individuals have the right to access records when the agency is normally open for business.
Sisson, who was denied access at 3:15 p.m., contends that the BRHA’s restricted pick-up policy conflicts with state law. “No, it’s during business hours,” she told BRHA staff at the time, adding, “I’ve got to stick up for myself on this so that the next person that comes around that just happens to start asking questions isn’t gonna be treated the same way.”
According to Sisson, this is not the first time she has encountered issues with her ORRs at BRHA. She claims that her difficulties with accessing records have been persistent. “This has been ongoing, just to be honest...there’s a lot more going on in that housing authority than people realize,” she said, suggesting broader concerns about transparency within the organization.
Another issue arose regarding the fees Sisson was charged for her ORR. On September 26, Sisson was billed $8, which included $5 for “copies” and $3 for a “flash drive.” However, according to Georgia’s Open Records Act, while agencies can charge for certain costs, per-page copying fees do not apply when records are sent electronically. Sisson was not given the option to receive her documents via email, even though the law allows for electronic transmission. Aiken addressed the cost for the flash drive, stating, “The audio file was too big to send to any Gmail account... So, I put it on a flash drive as I always do because of this issue,” but did not comment on the cost for “copies.”
Georgia law guarantees that public records should be accessible to any member of the public, “unless there is a specific legal exemption,” and must be available for inspection during the agency’s regular office hours.