Thursday, 09 September 2021 16:09

DENIED: Right to know request for township financial records

Be the first to comment!

This started out as a simple request for a 5 year budget comparison. When the township treasurer was unable to provide the requested financial report, I requested the Quickbooks data file, so I could create the report myself. The response wobbled: first the RTK request response said that Quickbooks data is unavailable. Then I asked more questions and it turns out that they do have that Quickbooks file, now they are saying they can't share it because it has confidential information.

Which is it?

The following email thread took place between January 7 and January 28, 2021:

NATE:
Can you please send me a copy of the 2015-2020 budget report with the 5 years set up as columns? Similar to the attached screenshot.

PAM:
I do not have a spreadsheet like that. The only comparison within our budget reports is where we are to date vs what was budgeted. All the monthly budget reports are online (we started posted them in 2019).

NATE:
Right to Know Request Filed: I would like the current Quickbooks data file (.qbw or .qbb) for any available dates 2015-2020 Can send via email, dropbox, google drive, etc. Or - I will provide a new unopened USB drive

PAM:
Right to Know Response: Your request is partially approved, as permitted by the RTKL, because the information requested is not available in the format requested.

NATE:
Which accounting software do you use? I was under the impression it was Quickbooks.

PAM:
Our bookkeeper uses Quickbooks but that is an active database with confidential information.

Last modified on Wednesday, 04 October 2023 08:25