A member of the Ogunquit Select Board has filed a lawsuit against Town Manager Pat Finnigan alleging she has failed to provide requested public records dating back nearly two years.
The complaint filed in York County Superior Court Tuesday by Selectman Rick Dolliver claims that Finnigan “willfully demonstrated noncompliance with statutory requirements” in failing to comply with multiple requests to provide public records, or give Dolliver the opportunity to view them at Town Hall.
Finnigan did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
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Dolliver’s attorney Bradley S. Moulton said Finnigan has not been served with the legal complaint yet, which was filed in court on Monday, April 15.
Dolliver has raised his concerns publicly at several recent board meetings regarding what he says has been Finnigan’s lack of response to his multiple requests under the Freedom of Access Act (FOAA).
The legal complaint states that Dolliver sought records in September 2018 related to the Request for Proposal (RFP) process for the beach bathhouse renovation and construction project, Finnigan’s phone records and emails for a week in January 2019, and a request for Select Board emails following the June 2017 election.
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“Statements have been made in public meetings that I had serious questions to the validity and the process that was going on. I kept hearing information that I wasn’t sure was correct or accurate, that’s why I filed these requests,” Dolliver said. “As a Select Board member I have a responsibility to make the best educated decisions for the taxpayers of this town, and I think as a selectman I should not have to ask more than once for information, or be completely ignored.”
Dolliver also asked Finnigan to provide information related to his public emails that were given to a resident under a FOAA request.
He says he received email responses from Finnigan acknowledging his requests, but never received any of the information.
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In the lawsuit, Moulton said his client is asking the court to determine that the information requested is public record and order Finnigan to provide it. He’s also asking the court to award costs and attorney fees related to his lawsuit.
He sought help from the Maine Attorney General’s Office public access ombudsman, Brenda Kielty, but discovered quickly that it was not going anywhere, Dolliver said.
He said the ombudsman told him a Select Board member should never have to file a FOAA request.
Kielty did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
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An exchange with Finnigan at a meeting earlier this month set Dolliver over the edge, he said.
“I was asking some hard questions. Pat (Finnigan) looked me in the face and said ‘I work for the majority of the Select Board.’ That did it for me,” he said. “She works for the town of Ogunquit, the people of Ogunquit, and she’s managed by five Select Board members.”
Dolliver said he followed all the right channels, and when it became clear he could not get the information he was seeking, he decided to file the lawsuit.
“All I want to do is create transparency, the last year has been the worst most non-transparent non-functioning Select Board I’ve ever seen,” he said.