City councilor asks why they are more likely to get RTK docs than private citizens

City Councilor Susan Rice explains her concern over a Right to Know request, while councilors David Walker and John Larochelle look on. Her discussion of 91-A is at 1:40 mark (City of Rochester screenshot)

ROCHESTER - A Rochester city councilor voiced her concern on Tuesday over comments made during her recent Right to Know request for government documents.
City Councilor Susan Rice said that she wrote the request as a private citizen, but in subsequent correspondence was told she would be more likely to get the information if she wrote the request as a city councilor.
"I found this distinction confusing, because 91-A does not provide diffrerences among requesters," she said. "We need equal and consistent treatment of all Right to Know requests."
In New Hampshire, 91-A, which allows "any person" to request government documents, is known as the Right to Know law.
In addition Rice urged Rochester Mayor Chuck Grassie to organize some Right to Know training for all city councilors, so they would have a better understanding of the Right to Know law and how it works.
Rice also noted that several informal meetings the council had in January and February were never posted nor were minutes of those meetings ever published.
Grassie said Rice's concerns and suggestions would all be gone over at the City Council's next workshop on April 21.
Grassie also said that City Attorney Terence O'Neil will be informing the council on the status of all legal actions currently being undertaken by the city, however details of those lawsuits will likely not be released.

Watch Councilor Rice's comments at the 1:40 mark of the workshop meeting by clicking here