Open Records Decision No. 249
August 29, 1980

	Re:  Whether a ranking of persons recommended for employment by a city is 
public under the Open Records Act

R. Marvin Townsend, City Manager
J. Bruce Aycock, City Attorney
City of Corpus Christi, Texas
P. O. Box 9277
Corpus Christi, Texas  78408

Dear Mr. Townsend:

	You have requested our opinion as to whether certain documents used in filling 
city appointments are available to the public under the Open Records Act, article 6252-
17a, V.T.C.S.  The documents consist of four completed standard forms denominated 
“appointment and promotion request.”  The forms are used in selecting persons to fill 
vacancies in the various departments of city government.  Each form describes the 
position to be filled and lists the names of the three or four leading choices selected from 
a much larger number of applicants, together with evaluations and comments by city 
officials.  The forms submitted to us include the positions of city planner I, commercial 
officer manager, director of maintenance services and traffic signal supervisor.  Although 
the citizen seeking the material has requested the entire form, he has advised us that he is 
particularly interested in the portion of the form indicating whether members of minority 
groups applied for any of the positions.

	In Open Records Decision No. 239 (1980), we held that a college president's 
recommendations to the Board of Regents regarding faculty tenure are excepted from 
disclosure by section 3(a)(11) of the Open Records Act, as “inter-agency or intra-agency 
memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than one in 
litigation with the agency.”  Section 3(a)(11) is:

	designed to protect from disclosure advice and opinion on 
policy matters and to encourage open and frank discussion between 
subordinate and chief concerning administrative action.

Attorney General Opinion H-436 (1974).

	The documents at issue here consist primarily of evaluations, advice and 
recommendations designed to assist city officials in filling vacancies.  In our opinion, the 
factual information contained therein is “incidental to and so intertwined with the 
evaluations and recommendations that we do not believe it is reasonably severable.”  
Open Records Decision No. 174 (1977).  It is therefore our decision that a completed 
“appointment and promotion request” ranking the top applicants is excepted from 
disclosure by section 3(a)(11) of the Open Records Act.  We believe, however, that 
where the form reflects that no members of minority groups have applied for a position, 
the requestor is entitled to examine that portion of the form.

Very truly yours,

Mark White
Attorney General of Texas

John W. Fainter, Jr.
First Assistant Attorney General

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE

C. Robert Heath, Chairman
Jon Bible
Susan Garrison
Rick Gilpin