City Government

01-30-2007 11:10 AM

City criticized for social security numbers on web site

By TIM BURLESON

GRANTS PASS, OR - The City of Grants Pass has come under fire for an incident involving the release of social security numbers on the City's official web site.

The social security numbers for Larry Lacey, owner of the G St Palace, and Lori Magill, listed as manager, were included in a packet of materials for the January 17th Council Meeting earlier this month. The packet of materials was published on the City's web site on Friday, January 12th.

It is the practice of the City to publish to the web site "Council packets" containing background information for Council Meetings on the Friday preceding the meetings. The January 17th meeting included an item on the agenda for a "motion regarding request for liquor license" submitted by Lacey for the G St Palace. The background information for this item included Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) "Individual History" forms that had been completed by Lacey and Magill that included their social security numbers.

Ed Bowers, an outspoken critic of the River City Trail project and the Downtown River District plan, has criticized the City for publishing the social security numbers on the web site. A letter dated January 25th from City Manager David Frasher describes an incident involving an interaction between Bowers and two members of City staff that occurred in the morning of January 24th.

According to Bowers, he went to the City administration offices and asked to review the public copy of the Council packet for the January 17th meeting. That copy was unavailable, so a staff copy was borrowed from Assistant City Manager Laurel Samson. That copy of the of the packet did not have the social security numbers redacted.

Another staff member realized the error and asked for the return of the packet. According to Janet Clark, one of the staff members assisting Bowers, he was left alone briefly with the packet. After the packet was returned and Bowers had left, it was discovered that the page had been "ripped out" of the packet.

In the letter Frasher states there was a conflict between Bowers and staff where Bowers refused to return a "municipal document." Frasher wrote, "... you had no authority to retain Mrs. Samson's packet once Lynn Van Deroef asked you to return it, nor did you have authority to remove a government document from the Municipal Building without permission."

Possibly the first person to discover the social security numbers in the packet was Tim Burleson, a frequent user of the City web site, who first noticed them on Friday, January 12th. Due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 15th, the next Council workshop meeting was not held until Tuesday, January 16th.

"At the workshop meeting," Burleson said, "I alerted [Frasher] and the mayor about the issue. Frasher was very receptive and said he would take care of it." Within a few hours, Burleson said, a new version of the packet was online and the social security numbers had been redacted.

Bowers acknowledge that the web site had been updated, but noted that the information was still available on the internet for four days before it was removed.

At a Council workshop meeting meeting yesterday, Frasher alerted the City Council to the issue. Frasher said publishing the social security numbers was not illegal, but it was not "the most courteous thing to do." Frasher added that the City will be more cautious with social security numbers in the future.

Reach reporter Tim Burleson at 761-0195 or tim@grantspassclimate.com

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