The City has a long standing practice where it hires "contractors" to do various jobs in City Hall. The salaries paid to those lucky few are tens of thousands of dollars HIGHER than a person would make if they were an unionized employee. Why does the City and Human Resources refuse to post a job, administer a test, interview the top 3 and give out the job? Instead they find a "contractor" who earns sometimes more than double the City would normally pay to someone else. Does that make sense when people are getting laid off? Hell, even if the City was a 100% financially and economically healthy, why would you pay someone $90,000 when you could pay someone $56,000 for example? The answer - POLITICS which ultimately play with our general fund money.
The Freedom of Information Act
5 U.S.C. § 552, As Amended By
Public Law No. 104-231, 110 Stat. 3048
Sec. 1-206. (Formerly Sec. 1-21i). Denial of access to public records or meetings. Appeals. Notice. Orders. Civil penalty. Service of process upon commission. Frivolous appeals. (a) Any denial of the right to inspect or copy records provided for under section 1-210 shall be made to the person requesting such right by the public agency official who has custody or control of the public record, in writing, within four business days of such request, except when the request is determined to be subject to subsections (b) and (c) of section 1-214, in which case such denial shall be made, in writing, within ten business days of such request. Failure to comply with a request to so inspect or copy such public record within the applicable number of business days shall be deemed to be a denial.
Sec. 1-240. (Formerly Sec. 1-21k). Penalties. (a) Any person who wilfully, knowingly and with intent to do so, destroys, mutilates or otherwise disposes of any public record without the approval required under section 1-18 or unless pursuant to chapter 47 or 87l, or who alters any public record, shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and each such occurrence shall constitute a separate offense.
(b) Any member of any public agency who fails to comply with an order of the Freedom of Information Commission shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor and each occurrence of failure to comply with such order shall constitute a separate offense. (P.A. 75-342, §16; P.A. 79-631, §24; P.A. 82-l88, §2).