The state’s Department of Human Resources responded ahead of schedule to a public records request, today releasing a raft of settlement documents for gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock that detail state employee settlements last year.
Late Friday afternoon Steven Collier, the department’s general counsel, emailed Brock’s campaign 128 pages of settlement documents, which divulge information about 21 settlements with state employees. The largest was $150,000 for Vermont Veterans’ Home employee Cheri Bull.
Reached by phone on Friday after 5:30 p.m., Brock told VTDigger that he hadn’t actually seen the documents yet, since he had no access to email, making VTDigger perhaps the first organization to see the records.
Brock said he’d reserve comment until he’d read the documents, adding: “I’m pleased that they responded, yes. But I can’t speak to the quality of the response until I’ve had a chance to go through it.”
“I certainly hope that it’s complete,” said Brock, who worried about possible settlement documents held at other departments, not included in the response today.
He said he’d wait for a while before hunting for further settlement documents, if he felt that necessary. Brock also wouldn’t commit to spending the weekend reading the documents, saying he’d have to balance heavy campaigning with some reading on the road.
A broad cross-section of agencies are represented in the information, from the Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, to the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Children and Families. No trends are immediately apparent from the settlements.
In an accompanying letter to Brock, Collier outlines how Brock’s narrowing the scope of his request, from all documents related to 2011 settlements, to just the actual settlement documents, allowed the department to “stop devoting very significant staff resources to your request.”
Collier adds that some parts of the documents are censored, to protect personal and private employee information. In explanation, Collier wrote: “We believe settlement agreements expending taxpayer funds are public. Nevertheless, the State’s relationship with its employees can be confidential, and quite personal…The redactions do not benefit the State directly, but we believe, help preserve the privacy of employees.”
Brock’s original request asked for a veritable flood of documents from five different state agencies, including all documents relevant to those settlements, like checks, ledger entries, and emails.
In a statement, Gov. Shumlin’s spokesperson Susan Allen said, “Governor Shumlin has been clear that settlements with the state of Vermont are public records that our administration is happy to produce on request.”
“Ahead of schedule, the administration has released to Senator Brock all responsive documents related to this request. Since Senator Brock is unwilling or unable to identify why he chose to make this request, I won’t speculate on his motives.”
Brock also placed a request with the governor’s office, which issued a letter on Oct. 30 asking for a 10-day extension, due to the “volume of information requested.” Brock’s campaign says it has not yet received a response from the Department of Finance and Management.
Brock’s campaign has been charged $193.60 for the trouble it put state employees through, compiling the records. VTDigger received the records for free.
Here are the records and Collier’s response to Brock. Happy reading!
