A report by the Arizona Ombudsman agrees with Quartzsite Mayor Ed Foster that the town wrongfully denied his request for access to information about the town’s finances and payroll.

Foster has alleged that the town blocked his access to information about where town money was going, speculating that there were more people being paid by the town than there were employees listed in the books.

The Ombudsman’s office agrees, saying in its cover letter to Mayor Foster:

We substantiated [your] allegation and found that the Town wrongfully denied your public records request. We recommend that the Town release the appropriately redacted records, but they did not agree. We have no legal authority to order the Town to comply with our recommendation. However, you have the option of proceeding to a court of jurisdiction to request a judge review the matter and consider issuing such an order.

The full report is available to read here, courtesy of the Qtown.us blog.