FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 6, 2025

Town of Stem Responds to Lawsuit Filed by Former Mayor.

STEM, NC — The Town of Stem Board of Commissioners, Mayor, Town Administrator, Town
Clerk, and Town Attorney, have been named in a lawsuit filed on August 1, 2025, in Granville
County Superior Court by former mayor Renee Green.

The lawsuit arises from a public records request Mrs.Green submitted on May 12, 2025. The
Town responded in good faith, providing extensive documentation and formally objecting to
parts of the request deemed overly broad and burdensome. Despite this, Mrs. Green has chosen
to pursue litigation rather than work toward a reasonable resolution.

At the heart of the dispute is Mrs. Green’s demand for all emails and text messages exchanged
among the Mayor and all Commissioners over multiple years — a request that could encompass
as many as 20,000 plus documents. Given the technical complexity of retrieving and reviewing
such a vast volume of records, the Town determined that an outside IT consultant would be
required, at an estimated cost exceeding $30,000.

The Town, in an effort to cooperate and reduce costs, asked Mrs. Green to narrow the scope of
her request. When that was declined, the Town also offered to share the expense of the IT
consultant on a 50/50 basis — an offer that was also rejected.

Instead, Mrs. Green has initiated costly litigation, despite the Town’s repeated efforts to find a
fair and practical solution. This lawsuit now places an unnecessary financial burden on the
taxpayers of Stem.

The Town of Stem is a small municipality in Granville County with a population just over 1,000,
governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners and operating without any full-time
employees. Despite limited resources, the Town remains fully committed to government
transparency and to complying with North Carolina’s public records laws in a responsible,
lawful, and fiscally prudent manner.

For additional information, please contact:

Tim Karan Town Administrator.
[email protected]