GEORGETOWN – A backlog answering public information requests at the Elections Office prompted county commissioners this past week to approve hiring another full-time employee.
Most of the inquiries flooding the county department originate with the same small group of people, said Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey.
Two outstanding Public Information Act requests contain almost 700,000 records that need to be viewed for possible redactions, officials added.
“It frustrates me that we’re here talking about this today,” Covey said April 21, noting the position is a mid-year, midbudget request.
The position comes with
“
It’s just reaching an impasse with the volume (of requests) that we have.”
— County Attorney Dee Hobbs a $55,000 salary. County Attorney Dee Hobbs agreed with Covey, noting he and Elections Administrator Bridgette Escobedo had already looked to no avail for alternative solutions.
“I would not be here if the repercussions of not being able to find a resolution were not urgent,” he said.
Commissioners unanimously voted for the new public information act coordinator.
“The position will handle intake, tracking, redacting, response coordination and reporting for (Public Information Act) requests, with emphasis on elections-related data and records,” County Judge Steven Snell said.
Prior to the vote, Hobbs recommended the hiring of a full-time employee to handle the requests in a timely manner.
“Our office is really behind on the public information requests. We work really hard to address these issues, however, during election period we’re kind of overrun and we get behind,” Escobedo added.
In general, government agencies in Texas by law have 10 business days to respond to the requests and can charge nominal fees for processing.
Hobbs said the main job of the Elections Office is to hold elections, but the secondary goal is to get information out to the public.
Hobbs said the elections department cannot get the requests processed at a speed that residents have come to expect.
“It’s just reaching an impasse with the volume (of requests) that we have,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs noted a 2024 state law requires more redactions to public information requests to protect legal information.
“Everything is getting more complicated and the requests are getting more voluminous,” Hobbs said.
Commissioners next meet at 9:30 a.m. April 28 at 710 S. Main St.
Sessions can also be viewed online at wilcotx.gov/331/ Commissioners- Court.
