The city of Little Rock has not responded completely or within the legally required time frame to two Freedom of Information Act requests, Prosecutor Larry Jegley told the mayor, city attorney and Board of Directors in an Aug. 25 letter.
Jimmie Cavin, a Conway resident who frequently makes FOIA requests throughout the region, on July 22 made requests for Mayor Frank Scott’s compensation package and credit card statements. Cavin blasted the mayor during a board meeting in early August for his spending and failure to answer FOIA requests. That inspired a strongly worded rejoinder from Scott on social media, who framed Cavin’s attacks as politically motivated and designed to aid mayoral opponent. Steve Landers. A day later, Scott announced changes in the way the city handles FOIA requests to streamline the process.
Jegley said that the city hasn’t provided documentation for Scott’s 2022 compensation package or documents explaining apparently missing credit card statements. He said that the city was to respond to Cavin within three days or provide an explanation if the requested documents don’t exist.
I’ve asked Aaron Sadler, Scott’s spokesman, for comment and will update if I hear back.
UPDATE: City Attorney Tom Carpenter responded:
This office has the letter, is gathering information, and will answer the letter next week. The letter was sent to each member of the Board of Directors, and this office has received some telephone calls from BOD members as to what steps this office will take. We have essentially stated to them the same thing contained in this email.
It is, unfortunately, somewhat general in nature at the moment. But, we take Mr. Jegley’s letter quite seriously, and wish to provide the information about which he asked as completely as possible.
