Despite an opinion by a state press attorney that reports approved by a borough council are public record, Summit Hill Borough Council continues to shield them from the press and the public.

For the second month, Summit Hill Borough Council approved various reports but failed to make them available.

Attorney Robert Frycklund, solicitor, told the council that information in reports could be used against the borough in a lawsuit. He recommended council look at a policy about what reports should be distributed.

Councilman Joseph Weber indicated he favors keeping the reports private because he doesn’t want to see borough funds spent on lawsuits.

Councilman David Wargo urged that a policy be adopted regarding what can be released to the media.

He said as a former reporter - he was a correspondent for the Times News until 2014 - he realizes how reports can assist the media in more accurately reporting on council matters.

“It was a hell of a lot easier for me when reporting to have copies of ordinances or aggregated reports,” he said.

Frycklund said the council should no longer release drafts of proposed ordinances to the press until the ordinance is passed. Previously, copies of drafts were given to the media to let the public know specific ordinances were being considered.

Among the reports previously given to the media included the monthly police report, minutes of the recreation commission meetings, work leader report, garbage delinquency report, list of bills paid, a list of correspondence and zoning enforcement officer report.

Only an agenda is now available at meetings.

Council President Michael Kokinda said the code enforcement officer dealt with eight quality of life issues in April. The nature of the enforcement or whether any citations were issued isn’t known.

Frycklund said if citations are issued, the media can obtain copies at the office of the district magistrate.

The solicitor stressed that in his opinion the Sunshine Law doesn’t pertain to reports adopted by the borough council.

Kokinda urged the media to “hold off until next month” to determine if a new policy is devised for releasing information.