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d. Protected from disclosure by state or federal law or court rules. <br />e. EXAMPLE: A recently annexed landowner sends the Mayor an e -mail <br />complaining about a fireman's conduct during a recent call to her house. Is <br />the e-mail subject to disclosure? Is the Mayor's response? Can the records <br />custodian make the decision on whether to disclose the letter? Hint: <br />Investigative materials may be subject to nondisclosure. Also, the custodian <br />"shall consult" with the elected official for the purpose of determining <br />whether correspondence is a public record. <br />2. The Act's definition of "Work Product" is fairly complex. Work product includes <br />materials deliberative or advisory in nature, assembled for the benefit of elected <br />officials, and communicated for the purpose of assisting elected officials in reaching <br />a decision within the scope of their authority. The Act goes on to address particular <br />examples, as follows: <br />a. Notes and memos that serve as background information for decisions are <br />work product. <br />Preliminary drafts and discussion copies of decision documents are work <br />product. <br />c. However, the final decision document is not work product. <br />d. Nor is any final financial record or report, or any final version of a document <br />for the elected official that consists solely of factual information compiled <br />from public sources. <br />e. Finally, work product is no longer work product if it is (i) produced and <br />distributed at a public meeting, or (ii) cited and identified in the text of a final <br />decision document of an elected official. <br />D. The Deliberative Process Exception. <br />1. In addition to its work product provisions, the Act exempts from disclosure "records <br />protected under the common law governmental or `deliberative process' privilege." <br />a. This exemption applies if the material is "so candid or personal that public <br />disclosure is likely to stifle honest and frank discussion within the <br />government." It doesn't apply if the privilege has been waived. <br />b. Unlike work product, this exception applies to records beyond those prepared <br />for the benefit of elected officials. <br />5 <br />