State of MN to City: David DeLong was right. Hospital to now handle its own public data requests

David DeLongIn December, former Northfield City Councilor David DeLong asked Northfield Hospital for the names of the finalists in its search for a new CEO/president. It turned into a bit of a saga.

Approved by the Northfield City Council as part of the consent agenda last night:

The City Council of the City of Northfield hereby requests that the Northfield Hospital adopt a data practices policy and establish a responsible authority in compliance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

Background:

    Opinion: Based on the facts and information provided, the Commissioner’s opinion on the issue Mr. DeLong raised is as follows:

    Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13, regarding a data request for the names of finalists for the position of president of the Northfield Hospital, the City of Northfield responded in a timely manner by providing some data responsive to the request but incorrectly classified some data as not public.

One Comment

  1. kiffi summa said:

    In the 15 years I have lived in Northfield, I have seen David DeLong proved to be correct on issue after issue, especially when it has to do with the PROCESS of city government.

    You may disagree with an opinion of his as to whether something should be done or not, but on process he is invariably right on. However, he is almost always treated with some level of dismissal when he raises a question , even if it is not a criticism, per se.

    But this goes to the need for the council not to appear to be adversarial with its own citizens, at the open mic; and that has been a problem with all the councils I have seen in these many years of observing the Council in action.

    Thanks for trying to keep the process ‘on its toes’, David.

    April 21, 2010

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