Wednesday, Mar. 02, 2011

Towns move to protect citizens

Names, e-mail addresses should be private, town leaders say

Town officials in Garner and Clayton are asking state lawmakers for help in keeping customer information out of the hands telemarketers.

In Garner, town leaders want to keep private the names and e-mail addresses of residents who sign up for parks and recreation programs. Clayton hopes to keep a lid on e-mail addresses compiled by the town. Currently, that information is public record, and any change would require action by the General Assembly.

Leaders in both towns say they want to protect their customers from telemarketers and others who would use the information to solicit business.

"[It] doesn't happen often, but we want to be proactive," Rodney Dickerson, Garner's assistant town manager, said in an e-mail. "When residents fill out registration forms, they do not intend for it to be public information."

Neither Dickerson nor Garner Town Manager Hardin Watkins could remember the last time a business requested or misused the customer list maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department. Still, at a meeting with Wake County legislators on Feb. 21, Garner leaders asked for the protections, and Dickerson said he thinks Garner has the lawmakers' support.

In Clayton, a bill sought by town leaders would allow anyone, including businesses, to view the e-mail list but not copy it. But like their counterparts in Garner, Clayton officials could not recall any abuse of its e-mail list.

State Sen. David Rouzer, a Republican from McGee's Crossroads, last week said that he wouldn't comment on Clayton's request because town officials had not yet contacted him about it.