A flood of public records requests surrounding Glenrock's controversial Flock license plate-reading cameras has town officials considering an overhaul of their public-records ordinance, including changes to how residents pay for the information they request.
Town officials say the requests have become increasingly time-consuming and costly, pulling employees away from their regular responsibilities and adding to the town's legal bills.
But some residents argue that charging hundreds of dollars for public information creates a financial barrier to government transparency, particularly when taxpayers are already footing the bill for the town's operations.
The disagreement spilled into a heated discussion at Monday's Glenrock Town Council meeting, where one resident questioned an $8,400 attorney bill and the town's handling of public-records requests.
Mayor Bruce Roumell told Cowboy State Daily that town attorney Amy Iberlin is working on a complete rewrite of the ordinance, which he believes will address several problems with the current process.
"We are very transparent. We always have been," Roumell said.
Iberlin, who is drafting the changes, told Cowboy State Daily that the outcome is “up in the air” and that it’s “like trying to hit a moving target.”
She said she didn’t know when the revised ordinance would be ready for its first reading.
$8,400 Attorney Bill Sparks Debate
The fiery discussion kicked off when Glenrock resident Mark Munsell asked the council Monday about $8,400 in attorney fees.
“Is that a Flock-related $8,400?” Munsell asked.
Roumell was quick to respond: “It’s monthly billing for everything she had to work on.”
Iberlin explained that the recently submitted bills covered six months of work. She also said she had lost two paralegals, leaving much of the work of reviewing residents’ public-records requests to her remaining assistant.
"Wow, I would have been fired for waiting six months to bill out," Munsell replied.
He then asked whether the town was increasing its fees for public-information requests.
"Not yet," Roumell said. "We're working on a new ordinance."
Iberlin said the town's challenge is that some requests require considerable time to research, compile and review, and requesters aren't always willing to pay the associated costs.
"What's happened here, folks, is if a request comes in and we spend a lot of time responding to those requests, a lot of time folks don't want to pay the money for the time it took us to compile the information," she said.
That time comes at a cost, she added, particularly when the work requires legal review.
"If it comes to my office, the council is paying for my time to review it," Iberlin said.
Flock Controversy Fuels Requests
The debate over public records comes amid months of controversy surrounding Glenrock's use of Flock Safety cameras, which capture license plate information from passing vehicles.
In July, Cowboy State Daily reported that the cameras had generated relatively little controversy in Glenrock.
By August, however, residents were attending council meetings and demanding answers about the cameras' authorization, locations and use. By September, the debate had expanded to include the town's contract with Flock Safety and its automatic renewal provisions.
Now, town officials say the controversy has produced a surge in public-records requests.
Roumell estimates that about 40 people have been outspoken in their opposition to the cameras. He said requests for public information have increased significantly over the past six months.
Some of those requests, he said, are so broad that fulfilling them could take more than a month.
One resident, for example, requested eight years' worth of emails.
"Eight years? Come on," Roumell said.
He said Iberlin also questioned the scope of the request.
"She goes, 'This is ridiculous. If they're going to request this, they're going to pay for it,'" Roumell said.
Iberlin pointed to one records request that sought “any and all emails related to Flock since 2024.”
“That’s generating thousands and thousands of emails – including ‘a flock of turkeys,'" Iberlin said. “It takes somebody time to make sure the material is responsive to the actual request.”
The mayor said the town is considering changes that would require requesters to pay a fee before employees begin compiling the information.
Roumell also expressed frustration that some records have been prepared but never collected. He said one requester would owe $80 to retrieve the records.
"They never came to get them," he said. "They've wasted time and paper for my clerk. We have other things to take care of."
Iberlin shared that frustration.
“What’s happened is that we’ll do all this stuff and then nobody pays for it,” she said. “It’s not a good use of anyone’s time or effort or energy.”
Roumell emphasized that the proposed changes are not intended to prevent residents from obtaining public information.
"It's not like we're trying to hide anything," Roumell said.
Questioning Cost Of Transparency
Glenrock resident John Gallaway, an outspoken opponent of Flock cameras who has submitted multiple public-records requests, told Cowboy State Daily that, rather than pay for copies of records to be made, he had asked to inspect the original records at the town hall at no charge.
The town offered some dates for Gallaway to come and inspect the records, “but we never settled on one,” he said.
He said he proposed this coming Friday and hasn’t heard back.
Separately, he said, he’s paying for emails and text messages he and the town agreed would be released Friday.
Gallaway added that the town’s estimate for his first public-records request was $760.
“That’s more than any of my vehicle payments, and more than the rent I pay,” he said.
He has since narrowed his request for records to a total fee of $238 – the records he said he is expecting Friday.
During Monday's meeting, Munsell argued that residents shouldn't have to pay additional fees to access government records because they already support the town through their taxes.
"We are the client," he said, "because I already paid in taxes for that money for that information."
Iberlin countered that employees and attorneys must be compensated for the time spent fulfilling requests.
"I get paid for my time just as I'm sure you do for yours," she replied.
Munsell suggested the problem might be the town's record-keeping.
"It sounds like our record-keeping sucks," he said.
"I don't think it's a record-keeping that sucks," Iberlin replied. "I think it's a process that sucks."
Working To Streamline Requests
Town Clerk Tammy Taylor said the council recently held a work session focused largely on how to improve the public-records process.
Before the Flock camera controversy, Taylor said, she received relatively few requests, and those she did receive typically involved only a couple of pages.
That has changed dramatically.
"Now, people are asking for every email between 20 employees for the last six years," she said. "We can't just hand that over. It takes time; we have to go through them."
Iberlin said the town is trying to develop a process that provides residents with the information they request while keeping the cost and workload manageable.
"I don't want to review thousands of emails for years on end to make sure there is nothing that shouldn't be provided," she said.
Council member Margaret Nunn acknowledged that the volume and complexity of the requests have presented new challenges for the town.
"This is a new issue and we are working very hard to streamline it," she said.
Other Towns Have Records Rules
Glenrock isn't the only Wyoming municipality to establish rules governing public-records requests.
Under the Wyoming Public Records Act, government records generally must be available for public inspection, subject to exemptions established by law. Municipalities can also adopt fee schedules and procedures for processing requests, within the limits of state law.
In 2017, the town of Wright adopted an ordinance establishing procedures and fees for producing public records.
Wheatland adopted a resolution in May 2024 establishing a charge of $15 per half-hour of staff time for certain public-records work.
Douglas also maintains a public-records policy and fee schedule, including provisions for recovering electronic production costs above $100.
Disputes over the cost of accessing public records have surfaced elsewhere in Wyoming.
In 2024, a Saratoga resident attempted to pay a $155 public records bill using 15,500 pennies. The town refused to accept the coins, bringing attention to the disagreement over the cost of obtaining public information.
More recently, Cheyenne resident Heather Madrid turned to crowdfunding after the city estimated it would cost $2,764 to fulfill her public-records request concerning the city's data center development.
Madrid raised roughly $2,800 through a GoFundMe campaign, with 23 donors contributing enough money in about a week to cover the expense.
She said she abandoned other public records requests over the years because of their cost but believed the questions surrounding the data center project warranted pursuing this one.
"Honestly, nothing concerning is what I'm hoping to find," Madrid said. "I think it will be worth it to have that peace of mind."
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
