Can the Delaware Attorney General rule on whether a town violated its own charter when firing an employee?

Official title

96-IB16: FOIA-Termination of Town Manager (Georgetown)

Plain-English summary

A Georgetown resident filed a Freedom of Information Act complaint about the town council's firing of its Town Manager, echoing allegations the Attorney General had already addressed at length in a separate opinion (96-IB15) resolving a related Common Cause complaint covering the same events. Rather than write a second full opinion, the AG issued this short letter pointing the complainant to the earlier decision and declining to duplicate its findings.

The opinion also addressed one point specific to this complaint: to the extent the resident alleged the town council violated its own charter (as opposed to the Freedom of Information Act) in handling the termination, the Attorney General explained it has no jurisdiction over charter disputes under 29 Del. C. ch. 100, the FOIA statute, and would not rule on those allegations.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What happens if someone files a FOIA complaint that duplicates one the Attorney General has already ruled on?
A: The opinion shows the AG will simply point the complainant to its earlier written determination rather than issue a duplicate ruling, when the same underlying facts have already been fully addressed.

Q: Can a resident use a FOIA complaint to challenge whether a town followed its own charter in firing an employee?
A: Not through this process. The opinion held that charter compliance disputes fall outside the Attorney General's jurisdiction under the Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. ch. 100, regardless of how the complaint is framed.

Background and statutory framework

The complainant's January 22, 1996 letter raised the same Town Manager termination that Common Cause had already put before the Attorney General, resulting in the separate written determination in Attorney General Opinion 96-IB15. The AG incorporated that opinion by reference here rather than repeating its analysis. As for the charter-based allegations, the opinion reiterated the limit the AG has applied consistently in this line of Georgetown complaints: 29 Del. C. § 10005(e) empowers the Attorney General to investigate and rule on alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act itself, not on separate claims that a public body violated its own governing charter.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• 29 Del. C. §10005(e), Attorney General's investigation and enforcement authority under FOIA
• 29 Del. C. ch. 100, the Freedom of Information Act, outside of which charter disputes fall

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/1996/05/15/96-ib16-foia-termination-of-town-manager-georgetown/

Original opinion text

Civil Division – New Castle County

May 15, 1996

Del. Op. Atty. Gen. 96-IB16 (Del.A.G.), 1996 WL 345764

( AG lacks jurisdiction over town council’s alleged violations of town charter )

Mr. Joseph W. Booth

303 North Bedford Street

Georgetown, DE 19947

Re: Freedom of Information Act Complaint

29 Del. C. §10005(e)

(Termination of the Town Manager)

Dear Mr. Booth:

Please consider this the written decision of the Attorney General pursuant to 29 Del. C. §10005(e) as to whether “a violation of the Act has occurred or is about to occur.”

Please be advised that pursuant to the Attorney General’s decision in response to the February 7, 1996 Common Cause Complaint, as amended three (3) separate times, the Attorney General’s office has fully addressed the allegations in your January 22, 1996 Complaint regarding the firing of the Town Manager. A copy is enclosed for your review. We find there is no need to duplicate our findings in a separate Opinion.

With regard to the Town Charter violations in your Complaint, the Attorney General lacks

jurisdiction over these allegations as they are outside 29 Del. C. ch. 100.

Pursuant to 29 Del. C. §10005(e) this office advises you of your appeal rights, if any, following our decision. We have attached a copy of this statute for your review.

Thank you.

Very truly yours,

John K. Welch

Deputy Attorney General

APPROVED:

Michael J. Rich

State Solicitor

JKW/jb

Enclosures