Newmarket Establishes Discriminatory/Obstructive Right-to-Know Policy

On October 28, 2022, Newmarket Town Manager Steve Fournier established a new Right-to-Know Policy and Procedure for Town personnel to follow when receiving requests from citizens to inspect public records.

This new policy, implemented by Fournier, violates NH RSA 91-A (New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law), is discriminatory, and is intended to make the inspection of public documents more difficult for all citizens.

First and foremost, Fournier’s new policy seeks to rewrite New Hampshire’s Constitution, where Fournier states, “Nothing in the law (NH) requires the Town to provide information to an out-of-state individual.” Mr. Fournier is wrong!

“RSA 91-A:4, I, refers to “citizens,” but the Right-to-Know law does not define this term, and uses it nowhere else. Instead, the statute emphasizes accountability to “the people,” accessibility to the “public,” and the goals of a “democratic society.” And, NH Right-to-Know law does not even require the requesting party to identify himself or herself and imposes no restrictions on the use of information once it is disclosed.

The NH Attorney General’s RSA 91-A Memorandum states: An agency should not, therefore, require persons requesting access to public documents to demonstrate that they are citizens of either New Hampshire or the United States.

Obstructive Policy: Fournier makes clear that Town employees, despite being public servants, will make no effort to assist citizens in any manner to inspect public records. Here are three Excerpts from Fournier’s new policy:

“ Nothing in the law requires the Town to provide information to an out-of-state individual.”

“Nothing in the law requires the Town to provide information electronically. As such, only photocopies of the requested information will be provided for inspection.”
“Nothing in the law requires the Town to answer questions. The law only requires the Town to disclose government records.”

The NH Supreme Court has a much different view than Fournier’s concerning public agencies' role in responding to citizens' requests to inspect public documents.
The NH Supreme Court has stated, the Right to Know is “best served when the members of the public and the governmental bodies are guided by a spirit of collaboration.” The Court encourages “all public bodies, and members of the public making Right-to-Know requests, to embrace that spirit, and work together to efficiently and effectively resolve disputes involving RSA chapter 91-A.”

The Town of Newmarket, NH, along with the Newmarket School District and Police Department, have secrets they want to keep from the public eye. Making Right-to-Know requests more difficult is just one of the many paths they have chosen to try and keep these secrets secret. These tactics will not stand!

P.S. a copy of Fournier's policy is available on the Town’s website.

Jeffrey T. Clay, M.Ed.