A number of

Peachtree City employees and volunteers who serve on city commissions

and authorities attended an open government workshop Tuesday afternoon.

The workshop

was presented by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, a non-profit

group devoted to educating the public and government agencies about Georgia's

open records and open meetings laws.

GFAF Executive

Director Hollie Manheimer, attorney Joseph Bankoff and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

editor David Milliron commented on a number of questions that cropped

up from the audience about following the open meetings and open records

laws.

Councilwoman

Annie McMenamin also sat on the panel, first addressing the problems city

officials face with open records requests and in following the open meetings

laws.

McMenamin said

that she relies on the city attorney to help guide council in following

the open meetings laws, which allow council to hold closed sessions to

discuss certain matters such as pending litigation.

City Attorney

Rick Lindsey is good at helping council's closed-meeting discussions stay

on track so council doesn't violate the law by discussing a matter it

should handle in public, McMenamin said.

The state's

open meetings law recently became more strict, requiring affidavits to

be signed which state the topics that were discussed in closed session.

Some council

members are so nervous about violating the open meetings law that "if

we have three of us standing alone together, we leave," McMenamin

said.

Sometimes in

open meetings, she added, heated exchanges occur that the media should

use discretion in reporting on.

Councilwoman

Carol Fritz, who attended the meeting, asked if council should interview

candidates for city boards, commissions and authorities during open meetings.

Currently, two council members and a city official conduct the interviews

at different times and if those interviews were conducted in an open meeting,

it could deter candidates from volunteering, she said.

Bankoff said

since there were only two council members present at the interviews, that

procedure is fine.

McMenamin also

said that sometimes open records requests from citizens were too vague

and it can take a while to find records, especially if they are old.

"If citizens

have a better idea of what they're asking for, that will help," she

said.

McMenamin also

added that she believes in open government which helps provide accountability.

"The more

we can give to the public, the better off we are," McMenamin said.

Milliron pointed

out that the law requires a "reasonable" amount of time to respond

to open records requests for up to three days. But the law allows for

the actual production of those records to take place later if necessary,

and both Milliron and Bankoff urged city officials to make sure they give

a written estimate of possible fees if any might be incurred in the search

for and copying of the records.

Bankoff also

urged caution in releasing records that could be considered to invade

someone's personal privacy. Most personnel records shouldn't be released

under the open records law, but some personnel records are open to the

public, such as an employee's salary, Bankoff said. Certain disciplinary

action taken toward an employee can also be released.

Milliron also

said it was important for agencies to have a media policy and a "custodian"

of records so there's little confusion about who can release records.

From the reporter's

standpoint, Milliron said there are many times when open records requests

generate nervousness from public officials. It's important for reporters

to maintain a good working relationship with those agencies, he added.