Julia Pierce | June 10, 2026 | Updated June 12, 2026

In the search for the video surveillance that would prove that the road employees that were alleged to have been stealing time, I was told by the clerk of the county manager’s office that there were no cameras, and we proved that there were cameras in several places on the Marion County Sheriff’s office building, jail, and above the fuel pumps by the road department.

I was told by a citizen that the sheriff’s office may be the ones who maintain those cameras. Thus, I called up to the Marion County Sheriff’s office yesterday, June 90, 2026, and asked if there was an email that I could send an open records request to, which I was given lsmith@marioncountyga.org.

I sent the request to Linda Smith asking two simple questions. Provide a digital copy of a list of active and inactive surveillance cameras. Linda responded that she needed me to provide her with a physical address.

I responded that I have requested a digital copy of that list and asked if I would be receiving that list by mail.

Once again, Linda parroted her previous email stating that I needed to send her a physical address, and I parroted my response that I asked for a digital copy and wanted to know if I would be receiving that list by mail.

I was able to see that she had read my email and I responded once more to her that if I wanted to received something by postal mail I would have used the postal mail to make my request and that the Georgia Open Records Act allows me to request a digital copy of responsive documents. I asked her if she had the list and didn’t believe that I needed to give her an address when she could simply let me know the cost for production if she had it or if they don’t have it instead of the cost and delay that comes with using the postal mail for this instance.

After challenging her, I noticed that there were a total of 56 views of my email to just Linda. I question why so many people needed to review my email? Was it what I was asking for? Was it because I wasn’t just taking her answer at face value? Was it because she didn’t know what to say to me and needed direction? Was it because she wanted other people to know what I was doing?

Then I received an email back from Linda stating,

Greetings, There is a fee of $50.00 dollars to begin the open records request. Money needs to be brought to the Sheriff’s Office to begin the Open Records Request. M-F 6a-4p. Please bring your Driver’s License with you. Thank you, have a great day.

So, Linda is saying that she is requiring a flat $50.00 before even beginning my open records request, which is a violation of the Open Records Act.

I responded back to her with the following response.

Hi Linda:

Please provide the statutory basis for the $50 prepayment requirement. Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71(c), please provide an itemized estimate showing the anticipated search, retrieval, review, redaction, and copying costs, including the hourly rate of the lowest-paid qualified employee used to calculate any labor charge. Please also identify the statutory authority requiring presentation of a driver’s license as a condition of submitting an Open Records Act request.

Another citizen contacted me and indicated that the Marion County Sheriff’s office told her the same thing, and she recorded the call. I have included it below.

I have made an open records act violation complaint with the Georgia Attorney General’s office, because what Linda Smith is requiring is not within the bounds of the law. Does she know the law? Was someone else advising her and she was trusting them to know the law? Was she stating this of her own accord to unjustly enrich herself or the Marion County Sheriff’s office? Or was this an attempt to obstruct my request for these surveillance cameras?

What do you think?

If you have a story, feedback, or questions, please feel free to contact me at Plumblyne Productions by email at plumblyneproductions@gmail.com or call me at 229-329-2179. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and follow to stay up to date.