By JOE SEELIG

LAKE PLACID — The town of Lake Placid is bracing itself for a possible lawsuit after a local psychologist requested electronic public records and was told he could only get hard copies, but claims it is his right to get them as e-files.
On July 31, 2006, Bruce Borkowsky asked the town to e-mail him a copy of its water utilities customer database. He’s been trying to get them ever since.
At Monday night’s town council meeting, Town Attorney Bert Harris III raised the issue telling the council to brace itself for a lawsuit.

Harris said he did not know Borkosky who, through his Attorney James F. McCollum, was requesting that the town comply with Chapter 119 of the Public Records Act.
Harris explained that the town offered Borkosky a hard copy of the database but he wants it in an electronic form.
In a letter dated March 2, McCollum noted that the town chose to automate its records by maintaining them electronically. In doing so, McCollum wrote the town must provide reasonable public access to these records.

“When the town designs or acquires its bookkeeping system it must consider whether the system is capable in providing the data in a common format, 119.01(2)(b),” McCollum wrote referring to Florida Statutes.
The town maintains it cannot cut and paste as attachments the documents and e-mail those records because it does not have the software in order to do so.
“Since May of last year Dr. Borkosky has been told that the appropriate software would be obtained within three months,” McCollum wrote. “That would have been by August (2006).

Tired of waiting, McCollum stated Tuesday he will file a lawsuit on his client’s behalf, if his client does not get the documents requested.
Borkowsky said Tuesday he is not prepared to say why he wants the records.
“I have my suspicions about our local government,” said Borkosky. “The Town of Lake Placid has been most egregious about violating our constitutional rights. Since May they have made dozens of different excuses about why they shouldn’t have to (provide the documents).

“One of the excuses they gave me is they don’t have the ability to provide that to me in an electronic format. I’m asking for an electronic record.”
Borkosky said the law he believes is applicable to the town went into effect in 1995 and the town got its software in 2000.
Council members at Monday’s meeting were not sympathetic to the doctor’s request when told a hard copy is available and he did not want to have to retype the information for himself.

“That’s his problem,” said Councilman Bill Brantley.
“Information is still information whether it’s paper or electronic,” said Councilman Charles Wilson.
McCollum said in October the town attorney offered to provide the information for $2,000. He said that was the cost of the software.
Borkosky refused, McCollum said, adding the town should pay that cost as it would benefit all future users as well.
“It could be dropped into an electronic file, it could be put on a disk or it can be e-mailed to him,” McCollum said. “It happens all the time in my office.”

County Also Contacted

Borkosky has made similar requests at Highlands County, for records which constitute utility records for Highway Park utilities, Placid Lakes utilities and any other utility records associated with the county.

The county has complied with much of that request, said County Public Information Officer Corine Burgess.
There are some records that will cost Borkosky between $160 to $200. Borkosky said Tuesday he was willing to pay that cost.
The doctor also requested all records which constitute the Highlands County Business Security Program. However he was told those records are in the care of the sheriff’s office.

A sheriff’s office spokeswoman said some of the records requested are for e-mail addresses. She printing about 100,000 e-mails and would require an individual review of each e-mail to redact confidential information. The cost alone of making copies would be more than $15,000, she said.
Borkosky said Tuesday he had not heard from the sheriff’s office, but said he would not pay that kind of money. He will consider redefining his request once he is contacted by the sheriff’s office.