Firefighters Push For LGC Documents Hits High Court

The Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire have long sought information on the workings of the Local Government Center. How much cash the LGC has, who gets paid what, and most acutely, how much of the money the union pays on health coverage that actually gets spent on health care? The union has long suspected that its heath care dollars are paying for other government center outlays – on fat salaries for lobbyists, and on a headquarters the firefighters consider lavish. This fight began goes in 2002, and in 2004 the Supreme Court ruled that health-trust, the LGC’s insurance arm, was a public entity, and therefore susceptible to state right-to-know law. Since then the LGS has formed other subsidiaries, to manage its property holdings and administrative functions. Those it argues, should not subject to the public disclosure law, because in the LGC’s words, they do not constitute essential government functions. The argument seemed a tough sell on Thursday. Here’s Justice Linda Dalianis questioning local government center attorney Chris Carter.

“LGC did not have to these two subsidiaries it could have done whatever those things do all by themselves?”

“Yes, it could have.”

“It chose not do, for whatever reasons; and by choosing not it now gets to argue ‘Well, these subsidiaries that we did not have to create, but did because we felt like it are no longer subject to the right to know law, even though had we not created them, would have been, relative to the same functions.”

“Where would it stop, your honor?

“I don’t know.”

This exchange prompted a tart response from Justice Gary Hicks.

“That’s the problem. Could the Governor’s office do this -- farm out some component of its obligations that are not essential obligations? Could the legislature do this?”

“The government, the Governor’s office, I don’t believe there is any question they would be subject to 91a.”

The attorney for the firefighters, Glenn Milner, seemed to have an easier time of it when he addressed the court. He said this case isn’t complicated, and argued that Healthtrust ruling makes it clear that the right-to-know law should apply to all local government center activities, which are, he stressed, all paid for by taxpayers.
“Our interest, I think is rather plain: we want to fallow the money and make sure that all that is doe with these public funds is appropriate.”

“And perchance the people who work for LGC are being grossly overpaid that would be an injustice to those who were dong the paying?’

“Absolutely.”

The Court’s not expected to rule on this case for several months. But in the meantime Local Government Center activities will be getting scrutiny elsewhere. The Secretary of State’s office is also looking into a complaint that’s arguments mirror those made by the professional firefighters. The complaint’s origin is at this point private. The lawyer for firefighters’ union says he’s aware of the complaint, but has no idea who filed it.