![\"Las](\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/LasCrucesCityHall1-336x186.jpg\")
Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p>
Las Cruces City Hall<\/p><\/div>\n
That’s what NMPolitics.net’s attorney wrote in response<\/a> to the City of Las Cruces’ motion<\/a> seeking dismissal of or summary judgement against the news organization’s lawsuit.<\/p>\n “If the court sides with Defendants in this case, it will encourage state government to hide public records in the hands of private entities, which is not what the New Mexico Legislature intended,” wrote\u00a0the attorney, C.J. McElhinney of Las Cruces.<\/p>\n He was referring to the Legislature’s passage of the N.M.\u00a0Inspection of Public Records Act<\/a> (IPRA), which states that all people “are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of public officers and employees.”<\/p>\n NMPolitics.net’s response to the city’s motion to dismiss or rule against the lawsuit was filed Thursday<\/a>. The case is assigned to Third Judicial District Judge James T. Martin.\u00a0The city has requested a hearing<\/a>\u00a0before Martin on its motion.<\/p>\n Las Cruces has released\u00a011 city manager applications<\/a> it received from The Mercer Group, the private company it hired to run its open city manager search. But the city\u00a0has refused to release dozens more, arguing that the private contractor, not the city, has possession of them so they don\u2019t have to be released.<\/p>\n NMPolitics.net argues in its lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0— which it filed against the city and The Mercer Group — that the city can\u2019t avoid transparency law\u00a0by outsourcing government services.<\/p>\n In response, the city dug in its heels<\/a> on its assertion that the public doesn\u2019t have a right to see\u00a0city manager applications\u00a0that are in the hands of a private\u00a0company running the\u00a0job search.<\/p>\n \u201cThe City has no legal mechanism under IPRA to compel the divulging of private information held by an independent contractor,\u201d Deputy City Attorney Robert G. Cates wrote in the city\u2019s motion<\/a> seeking dismissal of the lawsuit or a summary judgement ruling against it.<\/p>\n The Mercer Group has\u00a0also sought dismissal<\/a> of NMPolitics.net’s lawsuit, arguing that its\u00a0contract with the city doesn\u2019t require it to provide the records. And it says IPRA doesn\u2019t apply to the company.<\/p>\n The Mercer Group\u00a0provided the 11 applications to the city that \u201cmost closely matched the selection criteria for the City Manager position,\u201d the filing states. \u201cMercer was not required to provide or disclose to the City any information about applicants who were not included. \u2026 The City does not have access to this information under the Agreement or any other arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n In its response to such arguments, NMPolitics.net states that\u00a0the N.M. Court of Appeals has ruled that city manager applications are public record<\/a>. And the Court\u00a0has created a test for when documents held by a private contractor are subject to IPRA and when they are not.<\/p>\n