Did Lewes violate FOIA by temporarily removing a public meeting video from its website?

Plain-English summary

The Delaware Attorney General concluded that Lewes did not violate FOIA by temporarily removing a Historic Preservation Architectural Review Commission meeting video from its website.

FOIA required the commission to maintain minutes and make them available as public records. It did not require this commission to record its public meetings or keep recordings online.

What this means for you

Municipal commissions and clerks

The opinion distinguished mandatory meeting minutes from optional video recordings. Removing an optional recording did not itself violate FOIA.

Residents and journalists

FOIA access in this situation centered on the official minutes. The fact that the city regularly streamed or posted meetings did not create a statutory duty to preserve this video online.

Common questions

Q: Must Delaware public bodies keep meeting minutes?
A: Yes. The opinion quoted the duty to maintain minutes and make them available for inspection and copying.

Q: Must every meeting be recorded on video?
A: No. The opinion found no such requirement for the Lewes commission.

Q: Did a virtual attendance option change the result? A: No. The special recording rule for fully virtual emergency meetings did not apply.

Background and statutory framework

A news reporter challenged removal of a May 7, 2026 meeting recording shortly before a municipal election. The AG found that the city's optional online video was not a record that FOIA required the commission to create or maintain on its website.

The opinion applied 29 Del. C. § 10004(f) and 29 Del. C. § 10004.

Citations and references

• 29 Del. C. § 10004(f)
• 29 Del. C. § 10004

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2026/06/08/26-ib29-6-8-26-foia-opinion-letter-to-torie-seagraves-re-city-of-lewes/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2026/06/Attorney-General-Opinion-No.-26-IB29.pdf

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

KATHLEEN JENNINGS

820 NORTH FRENCH STREET
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19801

ATTORNEY GENERAL

CIVIL DIVISION: (302) 577-8400
CRIMINAL DIVISION: (302) 577-8500
FAMILY DIVISION: (302) 577-8400
FRAUD DIVISION: (302) 577-8600
DIVISION OF CIVIL RIGHTS & PUBLIC TRUST: (302) 577-5400
FAX: (302) 577-2610

Office of the Attorney General of the State of Delaware
Attorney General Opinion No. 26-IB29
June 8, 2026

Via Email
Torie Seagraves
Coast TV News
[email protected]

RE:

FOIA Petition Regarding the City of Lewes

Dear Ms. Seagraves:
We write in response to your correspondence, alleging that the City of Lewes violated Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10008 (“FOIA”). This Petition alleges that the City held a Historic Preservation Architectural Review Commission (“HPARC”) meeting on May 7, 2026. You assert that the City regularly streams and records its public meetings, and this meeting recording has been posted online but was briefly removed prior to a municipal election that would take place two days later. You argue that removing this video violated FOIA. The City must “maintain minutes of all meetings, including executive sessions, . . and shall make such minutes available for public inspection and copying as a public record.” 1 However, FOIA does not require the City’s HPARC to record its public meetings and post video recordings online. 2 As the City is not obliged to post or maintain this video on its website, we find that the City did not violate FOIA by removing the video.

1

29 Del. C. § 10004(f).

2

See 29 Del. C. § 10004. The May 7, 2026 meeting agenda has a virtual option for the public to attend, but that does not impact the analysis. Section 10006A’s requirement that a meeting recording be made available for public review within a reasonable time after the meeting concludes does not apply here; it is limited to fully virtual meetings held by an elected public body during a state of emergency. 1

Very truly yours,
/s/ Dorey L. Cole
_______
Dorey L. Cole
Deputy Attorney General

Approved:
/s/ Patricia A. Davis
________
Patricia A. Davis
State Solicitor

cc:

Alexander C. Burns, City Solicitor

2