ERLANGER, Ky. — What began as a routine open records request from an Erlanger City Council member has led a longtime city employee to raise allegations about how those records were handled and take his concerns to the Kentucky attorney general.
Jim White, who says he has worked for the city of Erlanger for 16 years, told WCPO 9 that 27 pages he processed as part of an open records request were ultimately not included in the records provided to the requester, Erlanger councilwoman Jennifer Jasper-Lucas.
White said he became concerned after learning the pages were missing and eventually consulted an attorney before taking his concerns to the Kentucky attorney general.
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The attorney general’s office has not confirmed or denied to WCPO 9 whether it is conducting an investigation. However, WCPO 9 reviewed emails showing investigators from the attorney general’s office requested interviews with Erlanger Mayor Jessica Fette and several city employees.
The allegations were first brought to WCPO’s attention during a Let’s Talk event in Erlanger in September.
“These concerns are really big concerns for us because of the non-transparency,” one person said at the event.
The open records request
Jasper-Lucas said the matter dates back to January 2026, when she submitted an open records request involving a mural she had heard about from residents in neighboring Elsmere.
“So in January of this year, of 2026, I submitted an open records request regarding a mural that I had heard about from some Elsmere residents,” Jasper-Lucas said.
White said he was responsible for processing four open records requests from Jasper-Lucas.
While compiling city emails responsive to the request, White said one particular email thread caught his attention. He said the correspondence concerned the mural but also included critical and profane comments about the mayor of a neighboring city.
“One jumped out at me,” White said. “This one had some salty language from one of our council people talking about the mayor of a neighboring city, and I opened that up just to make sure it was relevant to the open records request, and it was.”
White said he printed the responsive records and turned them over to his supervisor.
According to White, several days later, 27 pages from the request were returned to him with an instruction to remove the page numbers.
“She handed me back 27 pages out of that request and said they want you to remove the page numbers from these pages,” White said. “So I took them back to my office.”
White said he followed the instruction, removed the page numbers and returned the documents.
At that point, he said he did not know the pages would ultimately be excluded from what Jasper-Lucas received.
‘Those pages just aren’t there’
White said it was weeks later when he learned from a friend who was helping Jasper-Lucas review the records that the emails he remembered seeing were apparently not part of what had been turned over.
“I said, ‘What do you think about the page where there’s all this language toward the mayor?’” White recalled. “And she said, ‘There’s no such page in there saying anything like that.’”
White said he initially wondered whether the information had been redacted.
“I said, ‘Are you sure? Was it redacted?’” White said. “She said, ‘No, those pages just aren’t there.’”
White said that exchange raised concerns for him about whether the city had properly responded to the records request.
“So now we had a situation where pages were removed from an open records request and, far as I knew, that was illegal,” White said.
Jasper-Lucas said the allegation has led her to question how other records requests she has submitted were handled.
“It’s just unprofessional and really quite disgusting, in my opinion, and also just very concerning that pages were pulled out in general,” Jasper-Lucas said. “And it makes me question any other open records request that I’ve done.”
Concerns taken to Kentucky attorney general
White said that after consulting an attorney, he took his concerns to the Kentucky attorney general’s office.
WCPO 9 reviewed emails showing investigators from the office sought interviews with Fette and several Erlanger employees.
The attorney general’s office, however, would not confirm or deny an investigation when asked by WCPO 9.
White said he was told he would be notified once the attorney general’s process is complete.
For now, he said he believes that process should be allowed to play out.
“Let the process of the attorney general’s office play out,” White said. “See what the results are, and we can go from there.”
WCPO sought answers from Erlanger mayor
WCPO 9 repeatedly attempted in September to question Fette about White’s allegations.
WCPO 9 first requested an interview with Fette on Sept. 23 and sent her a list of questions the following day. After another follow-up, Fette responded on Sept. 29 but did not address WCPO's questions about the allegations.
WCPO also attempted to question Fette in person.
Jasper-Lucas said she wants the process to ultimately determine what happened and ensure similar concerns do not arise again.
“I hope what’s next is that people are held accountable,” she said. “And I hope that it never happens again.”
The Kentucky attorney general’s office has not confirmed wrongdoing by Fette or any other Erlanger official, and the offices potential interviews with officials and employees do not or an investgiation, by themselves, establish that a law was violated.
