Public records belong to the public.

To the editor: 

Public records belong to the public. That's the whole idea behind the Virginia Freedom of Information Act: Citizens shouldn't need a lawyer or a lobbyist to find out what their government and the authorities it funds are doing on their behalf.

I've learned this year that the principle and the practice don't always match up.

Earlier this year, a Grayson citizen requested records from the Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority (BRCEDA) related to a data center recruitment effort, internally called “Project Lightning.” He was quoted an initial deposit of $200. By the time BRCEDA finished its estimate, the bill had climbed to $2,600.75. He paid it. After doing so, he was confronted by a county official who is also a BRCEDA board member, and discouraged him from proceeding with his request. He persisted, and is still waiting for the records he paid for.

I filed my own records request to BRCEDA this summer. BRCEDA's cost estimate for my request came back at $1,914.18. I have not been able to move forward because the fees involved are simply out of reach for an ordinary citizen with budget limitations.

Notably, a separate request for BRCEDA's meeting minutes by another individual was provided free of charge. But those minutes proved to be uninformative, since almost the entirety of the meetings had taken place in closed sessions, off the record. It seems the fees only become “exorbitant” when a request might actually surface something.

To be clear: I don't dispute that gathering, reviewing, and redacting records takes real time. Virginia law allows public bodies to recover reasonable costs. But when the price of finding out basic facts about a public authority's operations runs into the thousands of dollars, the fee itself becomes the answer. It sends a strong message to citizens: Don’t ask. 

Data centers are coming to Southwest Virginia, and with them come real questions about water, power, land use, and who benefits. Those questions deserve real answers, not a price tag designed to make citizens give up and remain in the dark.

If anyone else has experienced being priced out of a FOIA request, I encourage them to speak up and tell their story, too. Transparency shouldn't be a luxury.

Sincerely,

Janet Blanding

Fancy Gap, VA