McMaster Comments About Anderson Personnel Dispute

By: Andy Pierrotti/WSPA-TV | News Channel 7
Published: April 08, 2008

You pay their salaries to keep the county running. And trust county employees to spend your tax dollars wisely.

But, is Anderson County’s top man in charge doing his job well? Right now, it’s anyone’s guess.

The county says that County Administrator Joey Preston’s performance evaluations are not public information, while County Councilmember Bob Waldrep and South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster disagree.

“We need to know how our leadership is being evaluated,” Waldrep told News Channel 7.

Waldrep says asking for public information us like playing a guessing game. “You never know what you’ll get,” Waldrep says.

This is no game, but if the administration wants to play games, how about Wheel of Fortune? We have three letters for them, FOI. It means Freedom of Information, a law that requires government to disclose public information.

News Channel 7 and our coverage partners at the Anderson Independent-Mail have asked for copies of Preston’s evaluations. Both requests have been denied.

Preston would not talk to us on camera, but he says he’s not the one that has an issue with releasing his performance evaluation; it’s the county’s labor attorney. Well, McMaster, the state’s top attorney says too bad, Preston’s a public employee and paid with public tax dollars.

“This thing that personal files are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act is really a myth,” said McMaster. “I don’t know how it started, but a lot of people think that. A lot of people have misperceptions about the Freedom of Information Act.”

This is not the first time that Anderson County has refused to give up public information. Last year, Waldrep confronted the Finance Department head after failed attempts to see county credit card receipts.

When asked if the county has a problem with being open with the public, Waldrep says he believes they do.

“Well, apparently they do,” he said. “I don’t have a problem with it. I think we should have open court house, open meetings.”