The blogger at www.elpasonews.org says that he filed a public information request with the city and tried to pay for it with a United States postal money order.
According to him the city refused the payment because they do not take money orders.
Stalling?
Why does the city continue to make it hard to get public information requests?
The public information act requires the city to respond “promptly”. Many cities respond to simple requests (just a few pages) within one business day. Our city regularly responds on the last day that it is legal for them to do so. The fact that they claim to be closed on Friday adds even more days to the time it takes to get information.
United States postal money order
The blogger has written that his money order was turned down because the city does not accept money orders. He wrote that the city sent him an email saying “[the] city does not accept money orders“.
That is not true. Many departments do. The city clerk, treasury department, tax office, police department, Sun Metro and the parks department are just a few that do.
The Fiscal Operations Accounts Receivable Manual published by the city contains these two definitions:
Deposits – Monies received in the form of cash, check, money order, and/or traveler’s checks.
Money – Legal tender received and collected, in the form of cash, checks, money orders and/or traveler’s checks.
The manual has gone so far as to say that money orders are legal tender. They are not, but it is not surprising to see the city defining things with its own terms.
Time for change
We need to let our feelings be known to city council. The city is stalling.
I doubt that the decision to refuse the money order was made by a clerk. There may be a paper trail showing who authorized the denial.
I hope that our new administration will take steps to put a stop to these kinds of actions.
Some might even argue that a law has been broken here.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 