Will suit pry open UAC records?

State law provides a window into the dealings of government officials and agencies, but one quasi-governmental organization claims it has a right to close its blinds tight from public scrutiny.

It began in November, when Salt Lake Tribune reporter Brent Israelsen sent a letter to the Utah Association of Counties, requesting copies of the association's budget, policies, audits and meeting minutes. The inquiry came after the UAC discharged associate director Mark Walsh over allegations that he violated the UAC's policies concerning the cashing in of sick/vacation time.

Walsh, a 26-year employee, claims the allegations were being used as an excuse to push him out due to long-standing differences between him and UAC executive director Brent Gardner.

Because the UAC is funded by public tax dollars through dues paid by member counties throughout Utah, it was argued that UAC fell under the purview of the Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA). But UAC officials have claimed that their association should be considered a private, nonprofit corporation whose records are private.

The Tribune sued in December, asking that the UAC be found under, and in violation of, GRAMA and that it be compelled to hand over the requested documents to the public and media. Last month the Deseret Morning News, The Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists filed to join the Tribune in taking the UAC to court.

The suit sets the stage for a legal debate on whether government associations, like the UAC, should be treated like governmental entities or like private corporations.

"How much public scrutiny does the law allow for quasi-public entities like the Utah Association of Counties?" said Salt Lake attorney and open government advocate Jeff Hunt. "Doesn't the public have a right to know the workings of that entity?"

Attorney Michael O'Brien, who represents the news organizations suing the UAC, said the UAC by its very nature is about government. "My question is, if they're not doing the public's business, then whose business are they doing?"

O'Brien points to the fact that aside from the UAC's executive director, the association's board is made up entirely of county officials. "They're mentioned in about 20 places in the Utah code establishing UAC reps on committees," he said.

Not only has the UAC represented county governments in lawsuits, it also lobbies and purchases group equipment for county governments.

On its Web site, the UAC says it is a "unifying voice for county government" that was formed in 1924 to "help counties provide effective county governance," O'Brien points out in his suit.