By: KATC News Posted at 4:21 PM, Nov 20, 2020 and last updated 5:21 PM, Nov 20, 2020

The conversation around the Public’s demand for access to the robust, digital data their governments create continues in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.

Read the full article here: https://www.katc.com/news/lafayette-parish/councilman-objects-to-fees-for-public-records-needed-by-the-council-from-lcg

Councilman Patrick Lewis is objecting to fees for public records needed by the council from Lafayette Consolidated Government.

Lewis provided a response to an email from City-Parish Attorney Greg Logan following Lewis’ inquiry for invoices from the Legal Department with reference to the City’s Special Legal Counsel. In a response to Lewis’ inquiry he was informed that the council would have to pay in advance before record would be handed over. Logan’s firm says the advance payment would be for retrieving, segregating and redacting those records.

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A complete accounting of all legal fees starting with the 2018-2019 budget through today—that would be two years’ worth. This information needs to include, at a minimum, a record of every payment, the date of that payment, the amount of that payment, the recipient of those funds, and the purposes of the payment, including the case name, matter name, or any other label that allows the Councils to identify the particular legal matter that was the subject of that payment.

This information needs to be sent to us in an electronic spreadsheet format like Excel.