The
District
has
provided
all the
nonprivileged
records
that are
responsive
to your
Public
Records
Act
request.
The
records
that
have not
been
produced
due to
employee
privacy
concerns
(very
few in
number)
have
been
described
for you.
There is
nothing
further
to
resolve.
If you
believe
that any
nonprivileged
documents
have
been
withheld,
please
identify
them or
provide
a basis
for your
belief.
Otherwise,
this
mater
will be
deemed
closed.
You mischaracterize what
I have said. There
is no Board policy
granting Board members
direct access to the
District’s computer
system. Without
such a policy, the staff
is not authorized to
provide such access on
its own. The Board
has not prohibited
anything at this point.
Again, if you want to
pursue this request,
then you should approach
your fellow Board
members and make your
case for a forma policy.
The check register
reflects the amounts
paid by the District
each month. Most
of the payments are to
recurring accounts and
vendors, who you should
recognize, or to the
recipients of grants
approved by the Board.
If you have questions
about a particular
payment reflected in the
register, whether as to
the identity of the
payee or the services or
products received by the
District, then you need
to ask staff for that
information.
Except for the very
limited circumstances
where the invoice
reflects information
protected by someone’s
privacy or HIPPA rights,
the staff should be able
to answer your
questions. Kim Griffin
and Lee Michelson are
committed to ensuring
that all Board members
receive the financial
information they need to
perform their duties as
elected officials.
If you have asked for
specific information
about a payment
reflected on the check
register and have not
received a response,
please let me know.
Mr. Hickey: Your records request was for the
information stored in the District’s PeachTree
financial software files. That information has
been provided to you. You seem to have the
impression that invoices and billings from vendors
and others have been scanned into the District’s
computer and incorporated into the PeachTree system.
That is simply not the case. The invoices and
bills are in hard copy only.
You have been requesting direct access to the
District’s computer system. In my experience,
such access is not the norm for elected officials
and I am not aware of any legal requirement that
such access be provided. There is no Board
policy to support this request. You do receive
a copy of the check register each month, together
with the financials which are presented at the Board
meeting and discussed by Lee Michelson, and staff is
available to answer any specific questions you have
about entries in the check register or items in the
financials. This is typical of the type of
information normally provided to elected officials.
If you are aware of some legal authority that would
mandate direct access to a member of the Board of a
healthcare district, I would be happy to consider
it. Otherwise, you would need to ask the Board
as a whole to adopt a policy authorizing such
access.
From:
Jack Hickey [mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 11:45 AM
To: Mark Hudak
Cc: Kim Griffin; Lee Michelson
Subject: Fw: Public Records Request
Mr. Hudak, a recent letter from Board
President Griffin (attached)
requests that I communicate solely with
you on all matters pertaining to my PRA
request and all other requests for
financial data. Prior to that
letter, I thought that much progress was
being made in resolving this issue.
While my request was specifically for
files maintained by Peachtree the ExCel
files were very useful.
The remaining information in my request
is available from within the Peachtree
program. That is, invoice and
billing specifics or their derivatives.
My communications with President Griffin
suggest a way to satisfy my request in a
manner which would protect privacy and
minimize staff time.
Apart from my formal PRA request, should
I require more detail than that
contained in the Peachtree files,
implementation of Director access to the
District computer would help all to
carry out the fiduciary responsibilities
of the office. Such access is not
prohibited by Board Policy.
Your assistance in bringing about a
speedy, and permanent solution to
this public information access issue
would be appreciated.
John J. Hickey
243 Ferndale Way
Emerald Hills, CA 94062
650-368-5722
Please see
attached letter.
Kim Griffin, R.N.
Children's Cardiology of the Bay Area,
Inc.
Phone 650-558-8280
Fax 650-558-8281
All of the invoices are paper. From an accounting
standpoint you do not always put an invoice number on the
check ledger. I know from experience doing our medical
office accounting that some invoices are not always
numbered. In those cases you have to reference the
invoice by the date you wrote the check and that is really
not a hard thing to do. There is nothing consistent
about accounting since everyone uses different invoices and
payment methods. You would like to think everyone is
on the same page with this, but they are not.
All you have to do is tell me which invoices you want.
It is that simple. No one is prohibiting you access to
the financial data. You received the information you
asked for. Again, I will ask you to be specific about
what you would like to see and I will obtain it for you.
For matters such as access to the server and audio notes I
prefer a more democratic and team approach; therefore, I
would encourage you once again to contribute proposed policy
changes as an agenda item. Our next board meeting is
April 6. If you want something on the agenda let me
know soon. No one has submitted a policy change for
the agenda suggesting that we limit access to you are anyone
from the public. I am confused about why you thought
that might be the case especially in light of all the
financial data you have recently been provided.
I have no interest in an interactive Peachtree demo.
It looks similar to all the other accounting software that
is available. There are any number of IT specialist
that you can hire that will give you a personal tutorial of
that software or you might want to check Fry’s electronics.
I have not been there for some time, but they used to
demonstrate some of the software they sold. However I
really believe that if you sat down with Peachtree and went
through their tutorial you would probably get more of an
idea of the capacity. If you find one that
simultaneously scans, reads and writes a check to an invoice
please let me know, because I will buy it!
From:
Jack Hickey [mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent:
Monday, March 14, 2011 10:12 PM
To:
Kimberly Griffin
Subject:
Re: Public Records Request
Kim,
I have no way of knowing which invoices are
“paper” and which are imbedded in Peachtree.
Also, please tell me what type of invoice, which
requires payment by the District,
includes matters which affect the privacy of
District employees or the director. I can
not imagine what they would be. And,
Peachtree software, which I have on my computer,
reconciles payments with invoice numbers.
For instance, the General Ledger Report from
Peachtree contains a “Reference” Field which
includes payments and receipts with invoice
numbers. And, the program provides links
to the actual Invoices where available.
The files I received pursuant to my PRA request
do not contain that information.
I suggest that we meet at the District office
for an interactive demonstration of exactly what
is and isn’t accessible within the Peachtree
program. And, to find out how “paper”
invoices are handled. I’m available
tomorrow morning.
District Policy does NOT prohibit
providing Directors with access to District
data. As President of the Board you have
discretion to make it happen. Just as you
have discretion to place recorded meetings on
our website. If any member of the Board
wants to change policy to prevent such access, I
welcome them to try. I’m sure the Grand
Jury would be interested in the outcome.
You state that, “...we are spending
a lot of time trying to accommodate your
requests...”. The truth is that I have
been spending a lot of time trying to make it
easy for the District to open up it’s books to
public scrutiny.
Jack
Hickey
From:
Kimberly Griffin
Sent:
Monday, March 14, 2011 2:31 PM
To:
'Jack Hickey' ;
'Lee Michelson'
Subject:
RE: Public Records Request
Jack
the paper invoices are not scanned into the
computer and are not included in Peachtree,
which is why you did not see them on the
information that was provided to you. You
can review invoices as long as they do not
include matters which affect the privacy of
District employees or the director. Again,
I will ask you to request specific invoices and
make an appointment to review those invoices.
I think it would be best to direct the request
for invoices through Lee and make the
appointment with him as well. I am also
asking that you be judicious about requesting
these invoices and keep in mind that we are
spending a lot of time trying to accommodate
your requests, which ultimately takes away from
time needed to conduct the District’s other
business providing much needed services to the
district members.
If
you want copies of the invoices then they will
be provided at the cost outlined in the
District’s policies. If your request
involves research or an unusual amount of time,
Lee will direct it to me in accordance with
Board Policy No. 2.6.
As
you know, direct access to the computer system
is not normally provided to District directors
or any elected officials. This would
require a new Board Policy and you are welcome
to ask that we put this on the agenda.
From:
Jack Hickey [mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent:
Monday, March 14, 2011 12:02 PM
To:
Kimberly Griffin
Cc:
Lee Michelson; MHUDAK@carr-mcclellan.com;
Terry@CalAware.org
Subject:
Re: Public Records Request
Kim, my original PRA request for
Peachtree files would have given me
access to all invoice information
which Peachtree stores. Then,
if I needed to see an actual paper
invoice for details, I could request
that information.
Please respond to my prior
suggestion: “I still think the
ultimate solution is to provide all
interested Directors with access to
non-private information on the
server. Access to the
Peachtree program and files, via
user permissions, would obviate the
need for my pursuing a PRA request
as a private citizen. A remote
(from home) or wireless log-on, such
as Glenn Nielsen has, would be
preferred. Staff need not be
burdened by my requests if such
access were provided.”
Absent such access, I accept your
offer to provide me with copies of
paper invoices. I expect that
these have been scanned into the
District computer, and are available
in electronic format. I
request all invoices so stored.
Please advise me if this is not the
case.
Jack Hickey
From:
Kimberly Griffin
Sent:
Monday, March 14, 2011
9:40 AM
To:
'Jack Hickey'
Subject:
RE: Public Records
Request
Jack, invoices usually are submitted
in paper form. Most of the
information on the invoice will not
be connected to PeachTree. Let
me know which invoices you desire
and I will provide those to you.
We have incurred legal fees related
to the pension issue and of course
your recent PRA request. The
questions surrounding the pension
required a substantial amount of
time.
From:
Jack Hickey
[mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Friday, March
11, 2011 3:56 PM
To: Kim Griffin
Cc: Lee Michelson;
MHUDAK@carr-mcclellan.com;
Terry@CalAware.org
Subject: Fw: Public
Records Request
Kim, today as promised
by Mark Hudak I received
a CD with District
Financials. This
is progress. I am
attaching the most
useful files for your
perusal. The one
which I have entitled
NewCheckReg contains
more detail than
OrigCheckReg.
Ind.AccountDetail is
very useful. It
helps one understand how
financial numbers are
derived. The Board
Health Insurance section
is particularly
informative.
Questions remain.
Where are actual
Invoices stored?
Access to Peachtree
would seamlessly provide
links to these
documents. How do
we differentiate between
Communications and
Public Relations?
What are “Legal Fees”
actually paying
for.
I still think the
ultimate solution is to
provide all interested
Directors with access to
non-private information
on the server.
Access to the Peachtree
program and files, via
user permissions, would
obviate the need for my
pursuing a PRA request
as a private citizen.
A remote (from home) or
wireless log-on such as
Glenn Nielsen has would
be preferred.
Staff need not be
burdened by my requests
if such access were
provided.
It is outrageous, that
as a Director elected as
an advocate for the
Taxpayer, I have been
forced to expend such
time and effort to
acquire District
information necessary to
fulfill my obligation.
Your support of my
efforts to provide open
access to District
operations is most
welcome.
Jack Hickey, Elected
Director
From:
Jack Hickey
Sent:
Thursday,
March 10,
2011 9:04 PM
To:
Mark Hudak
Subject:
Re: Public
Records
Request
Mr. Hudak, I
am
encouraged
by this
response,
and am
hoping that
the Excel
format
includes
links to
invoices and
other public
documents
stored in
the
Peachtree
files I
requested.
Mr. Hickey:
As I noted
in my
earlier memo
to you,
there are
technical
problems in
providing
you with
exact
electronic
copies of
the data in
the
Peachtree
folders.
Staff is not
aware of any
process they
can follow
to edit out
the portions
of these
files that
reflect
confidential
personal
information
of the
employees.
That leaves
staff with
two choices:
prepare
paper copies
and edit the
personal
information
manually, or
re-format
the data
into an
Excel format
that allows
editing and
transmittal
electronically.
Since you
apparently
do not want
to have
paper
copies,
staff has
followed the
latter
course.
A disk
containing
the records
you have
requested
has been
prepared and
is being
sent to you
this
afternoon
via Federal
Express.
You should
have the
package
tomorrow.
If it does
not arrive
by the end
of the day,
please let
me know.
I trust that
you will
find the
data and
format to be
satisfactory.
If you have
any
questions
regarding
the process
that was
followed to
fulfill your
request,
please let
me know.
I was
confused
about
what you
actually
received.
As I now
understand
it you
have
received
a copy
describing
our
computer
network
system?
This
looks
about
right in
view of
your
description
below.
From:
Jack
Hickey
[mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent:
Monday,
March
07,
2011
4:46
PM
To:
Kimberly
Griffin
Cc:
Lee
Michelson
Subject:
Re:
District
Computer
Network
Kim, I have heard nothing from Lee or Mark in this regard.
Jack
From: Kimberly Griffin
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 12:40 PM
To: 'Jack Hickey'
Subject: RE: District Computer Network
Jack, Lee advised me you were able to come in and get the PeachTree accounting. Have you been able to review everything you need on this?
From: Jack Hickey [mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 11:48 AM
To: Kimberly Griffin
Subject: Re: District Computer Network
E-mail accounts have separate passwords for each individual. Server access can be restricted by the Admin. Identififcation of areas requiring “privacy” should be established by the CEO, with oversight by the Board. I’m not sure which e-maul traffic justifies “privacy”. Many PRA requests for phone an e-mail records of public agencies have been successfully filled.
Jack
From: Kimberly Griffin
Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 8:59 AM
To: 'Jack Hickey'
Subject: RE: District Computer Network
How do you protect email accounts for privacy if you have access to the server?
From: Jack Hickey [mailto:jackcapp@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 3:09 PM
To: Kim Griffin
Cc: Lee Michelson; MHUDAK@carr-mcclellan.com; Terry@CalAware.org
Subject: District Computer Network
Kim, I spoke with Lee this morning about the District’s computer network. I determined the following:
Precision Digital Networks (PDN) is our service provider.
An Intel based Dual-core Xeon Tower Server is connected to a Dynamic T1 line which also supports 5 voice lines.
There are six full data outlets connected to the server.
There are 3 HP/Compaq Business Desktop Computers, with CD-Burning and USB capability, connected to the server.
There is a wireless router installed on the server.
PDN has configured “users” on the server.
I suggest that Directors, upon request, be given “Read Only” access to the District server. This would likely involve the services of PDN, as was done to provide Glenn Nielsen with wireless access. Log-on from home computers, which may already be available to staff, would be nice.
Such access would obviate the need for contentious PRA requests. “Director” users access to Peachtree data could be further restricted, if necessary, to protect privacy.
Jack Hickey
"Mr.
Michelson,
pursuant to
the State of
California
Public
Records Act
(
GOVT. CODE
§§ 6250 -
6276.48) I
hereby
request all
financial
records of
the
District, in
electronic
format,
which are
contained in
folders
created by
Peachtree
Software on
computers
used by the
District. I
prefer that
they be
sent via
e-mail at no
charge.
Provision of
the
requested
records on
CD
would be
acceptable
with a
charge for
media
cost. I
understand
that there
are
exceptions
to
disclosure,
and that the
burden of
justifying
nondisclosure
lies with
your
agency.
Since I have
already made
less formal
requests for
District
records, I
expect an
expeditious
response to
this
request."
The
following
outlines the
procedure
for locating
the
requested
files:
Rick
Prindiville,
rick@pcosupport.com,
Peachtree
Solution
Provider,
Peachtree
Certified
Consultant,
Custom
Crystal
Reports for
Peachtree
www.pcosupport.com,
www.peachtraining.com,
www.crystalforpeachtree.com
Peachtree is
designed to
use a series
of folders.
One folder
is for the
primary
program and
typically
the second
contains
shared
program
elements in
the case of
a multi-user
environment
and the
third folder
contains the
Company
(personal)
data files.
Open
Peachtree
and your
Company.
Click on
MAINTAIN -
Company
Information.
The folder
that
contains all
of the files
that make up
your
personal
company
data is
listed on
the line
labeled
"Directory".
It is these
files which
I have
requested.
If they do
not contain
data prior
to July
2009, so be
it. They
can be
easily
copied to a
USB Flash
drive, CD,
or sent by
e-mail.
And,
Peachtree
allows the
Administrator
to grant
limited
access to
the data
for other
users.
Your
statement,
"District
staff does
not have
that
capability",
lacks
credibility.
A technical
summary of
the
installed
network
computer
system
in the
District
Office is
hereby
requested.
Documents
from the
contracting
agency
responsible
for the
installation
should
suffice.
In my
opinion,
your request
for a 14 day
extension is
unjustified.
John J.
Hickey
243 Ferndale
Way
Emerald
Hills, CA
94062
650-368-5722
-----Original
Message-----
From: Mark
Hudak
Sent:
Sunday,
February 27,
2011 1:08 PM
To:
jackcapp@sbcglobal.net
Subject:
Public
Records Act
Request
Mr. Hickey:
I have been
asked to
assist the
District
staff in
responding
to
your records
request. As
you will see
from the
attached
memo,
there are
problems
with the
scope and
technical
requirements
of your
request. I
believe that
most of
these can be
addressed.
I would
suggest that
we confer
by
telephone.
Monday is
not
promising,
but I will
be in the
office most
of
Tuesday. If
there is a
time on
Tuesday that
will work
for you,
please let
me know and
I can call
you at that
time. Let
me know the
best number
to
reach you.
It is ambiguous! I cannot determine which part of the records you want. I also made a reasonable request to you to look at these in manageable increments. We already get the Peach Tree in email form. So again, tell me what you want (and be specific) including dates and whatever detail you want as far as invoice or cancelled checks. I believe we can open up each line on Peach Tree and print that material. I want you to narrow the focus here and explain what you want. Do you want to start with the last accounting we received?
Government Code Section 6253. (a) Public records are open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or local agency and every person has a right to inspect any public record, except as hereafter provided. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be available for inspection by any person requesting the record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by law. (b) Except with respect to public records exempt from disclosure by express provisions of law, each state or local agency, upon a request for a copy of records that reasonably describes an identifiable record or records, shall make the records promptly available to any person upon payment of fees covering direct costs of duplication, or a statutory fee if applicable. Upon request, an exact copy shall be provided unless impracticable to do so. (c) Each agency, upon a request for a copy of records, shall, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the possession of the agency and shall promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefor. In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in this section may be extended by written notice by the head of the agency or his or her designee to the person making the request, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than 14 days. When the agency dispatches the determination, and if the agency determines that the request seeks disclosable public records, the agency shall state the estimated date and time when the records will be made available. As used in this section, "unusual circumstances" means the following, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular request: (1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request. (2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request. (3) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the agency having substantial subject matter interest therein. (4) The need to compile data, to write programming language or a computer program, or to construct a computer report to extract data. (d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit an agency to delay or obstruct the inspection or copying of public records. The notification of denial of any request for records required by Section 6255 shall set forth the names and titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial. (e) Except as otherwise prohibited by law, a state or local agency may adopt requirements for itself that allow for faster, more efficient, or greater access to records than prescribed by the minimum standards set forth in this chapter.
Jack, I was in the District Office yesterday
talking to Lee. He said you requested
financial information. I would like to
start with one month at a time. Take a
look at what you have concerns about and be
specific. For example let me know what
the check number is and what your question
is. Do you want an invoice or an
actual copy of the check?
Kim Griffin,
R.N.
Children's
Cardiology of the Bay Area, Inc.
Phone
650-558-8280
Fax
650-558-8281
Lee Michelson, CEO
Sequoia Healthcare District
525 Veterans Boulevard
Redwood City, CA 94063
Mr. Michelson, pursuant to the State of California Public Records Act ( GOVT. CODE §§ 6250 - 6276.48) I hereby request all financial records of the District, in electronic format, which are contained in folders created by Peachtree Software on computers used by the District. I prefer that they be sent via e-mail at no charge. Provision of the requested records on CD would be acceptable with a charge for media cost.