City Council Worried About Citizens' Privacy

To file for a business license, a liquor license or any other city permit, applicants must provide with several pieces of personal information. That information can include, but is not limited to, home and business address, financial documents and Social Security numbers.

That information is required for city officials to gage whether an applicant has fulfilled state and other requirements before granting a city license. But should it be public?

City Councilman Terry Crow says not and complained Monday about the failure of the city to protect the privacy of its residents and business owners. In public information packets provided for the board meeting, private information, including Social Security numbers was not redacted before printing.

Copies of supporting documents are usually provided for the public when a hearing is held. Those public hearings can include zoning issues and city liquor licences.

"I'm having a hard time understanding why this continues to happen," Crow said. "Who is responsible for redacting these before they are made public?"

Councilwoman Lynn Ricci suggested Crow should have called the city manager immediately after discovering the error to have the documents pulled. Crow said that while he receives his council packet on a Friday he may not go through it until Sunday.

"I didn't wait four days to report it," he said. "Some of us don't get to read our packets until Sunday or Monday, at which point it is too late."

The city agreed to look into how private information is not getting redacted from public documents.