The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Talladega Water and Sewer Board's request for a rehearing on the court's earlier decision that the agency is public and subject to open records laws.The Supreme Court action came as the final leg of a two-year legal journey through the courts in Alabama over release of public records.
The ruling stems from a July 2002 suit filed by Consolidated Publishing, which owns The Daily Home, demanding personnel records relating to the theft of more than $90,000 in board funds.
The newspaper had been denied access to disciplinary actions and other documents regarding the theft.
Three employees were fired as a result of the missing money, and one of those was charged and ultimately convicted of the theft.
Water board general counsel Charlie Gaines said the high court's decision Friday brings the matter between the local newspaper and the water board to a conclusion.
"We'll comply with the court's directives," Gaines said.
In January, the Alabama Supreme Court unanimously ruled the board was a public entity, and as such, subject to the state's Open Records Act. According to a spokesman with the Alabama Supreme Court, the board's application for a rehearing was overruled Friday, leaving the state justices' Jan. 16 opinion intact.
Talladega County Circuit Court Judge Jerry Fielding initially ruled in October 2002 that the Talladega Water and Sewer Board is a public entity and subject to the state open records laws. However, the water board unanimously approved appealing Fielding's decision.
In January 2004, the Alabama Supreme Court unanimously upheld the local circuit judge's ruling, but the water board voted 4-0, with only newly appointed board member Dan Waites abstaining from the vote, to request a rehearing of the case by the Alabama Supreme Court. That decision delayed once again public access to water board records.
The Alabama League of Municipalities and the Alabama Water and Wastewater Institute, which sided with the local water board, filed briefs on the water board's behalf Wednesday.
But the high court denied the rehearing two days later.
Elizabeth Parsons, who represented the newspaper in the lengthy public records fight along with Montgomery attorney Dennis Bailey, said she was "pleased with the decision, and this should be the conclusion to this appeal."
Efforts to reach Talladega Water and Sewer Board Chairman Wayne Kearley and board members Dan Waites and Charles Pope for immediate comment Friday were unsuccessful.
Board members David McGhee and Lawrence McGraw did not wish to make any comments.
"We are glad to finally put this to an end," said Daily Home Editor and Publisher Carol Pappas. "We have contended all along that the people of Talladega had every right to know about the operation of their water system, including the documents we initially requested.
"We felt the argument that Talladega's water system was not a public entity subject to the Open Records Law of this state was absurd, and the courts now concur.
"The circuit court of Talladega and the state's high court have agreed with us not once, but twice, and we are anxious to put this long, legal battle behind us and move on for the good of the city of Talladega," Pappas said.
