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Most record requests approved

Across Northeast Michigan, most who asked for records received them

ALPENA — Northeast Michigan governments approved almost all of the more than 400 public records requests they received last year.

Municipalities in Alpena, Alcona, Montmorency, and Presque Isle counties received a combined 411 FOIA requests. Of those, 12 were rejected, while two were partially rejected. The FOIA law allows governments to withhold or redact documents if the information fits into a prescribed set of disclosure exemptions.

A total of $1,357 in revenue was collected by the municipalities to fulfill the requests, according to records reviewed by The News. While there is no charge to file a FOIA request, the municipality is allowed to charge for the time it takes to search for records and for duplication of those records.

Lisa McGraw, public affairs manager for the Michigan Press Association, said FOIA is crucial to help residents know where taxpayer money is going.

“It helps people know what their government is doing,” McGraw said. “It can also hold people accountable for their behavior, if necessary.”

The News was unable to reach 13 municipalities to request data for this story.

DENIED REQUESTS

Requests were denied by Northeast Michigan governments because records didn’t exist, technology to fulfill the request didn’t exist, records were exempt from disclosure, or the request was submitted to the wrong agency.

For example, a FOIA request in Long Rapids Township was denied because the township lacked the technological capability to fulfill it, township officials said.

Presque Isle County had eight requests denied — the most of any municipality that responded to The News. Three of those were exempt because it involved court records, which aren’t subject to FOIA but are open records under other state laws, or because the government wasn’t allowed to provide the records under the statute.

County Clerk Ann Marie Main said one of the exempt requests asked for income information for county personnel, but the income requested was not paid out by the county. Main said the county didn’t possess the information to fulfill the request.

One public information request to the Rogers City Police Department was denied, and one request to the city was partially denied because the city didn’t have the information in their records, according to records provided by city Clerk Terri Koss.

Records show city staff were able to provide other documents pertaining to that request, and a fee of $18.44 was paid to obtain the documents.

Alpena County Undersheriff Erik Smith could not tell The News how many information requests the Sheriff’s Department denied last year. Smith said the data couldn’t be provided because many of the public records requested ended up in partial denials.

He said a majority of the public records requests received by his office are for a police or incident report. However, Smith said he is not allowed to release personal information such as phone numbers or addresses, so that information is redacted.

FOIA allows, but does not require, public bodies to withhold personal information if the information is a clearly unwarranted invasion of someone’s privacy.

“Pretty much every request gets approved in some way, shape, or form,” Smith said. “It’s just there’s partial denials, and I think that’s why it’s hard to give you a direct number.”

He said one or two requests were denied because the records were requested by inmates, who are not allowed to file a FOIA request under the current law.

REVENUE RECEIVED

Municipalities collected less revenue from FOIA requests in 2019 than the previous year. Municipalities received $1,357 from requests last year.

In 2018, municipalities received $1,407.

Larger governments in 2019 brought in the most revenue from public information requests. Alpena County received $385.12, Presque Isle County received $373.25, and Rogers City received $262.99 from requests.

McGraw said different laws determine how much governments can charge to fulfill a request. Governments are allowed, for example, to charge 10 cents per page for copies of documents provided to a requester.

Governments can only charge requesters for the time of the lowest-paid employee qualified to fulfill the request.

“There are certain parameters that are followed,” McGraw said.

Sometimes, clerks use their discretion as to when to charge for public information requests.

Alpena Clerk, Treasurer and Finance Director Anna Soik said that, if the request doesn’t take long to fulfill, she doesn’t charge for it, but will find the information and send it along.

“If it’s reasonable, we don’t charge for it,” she said. “But, if it’s very involved, then we do. We’ll send out an estimate before we actually gather the information.”

Koss, the Rogers City clerk, said that, if records requests include electronic documents and the city incurs no cost, she will fulfill the request at no charge. However, she does charge for more in-depth requests and when copies are made.

Municipalities are required to have FOIA policies in place. Commissioners in Montmorency County were recently told by attorney Bryan Graham of the law firm Young, Graham and Wendling the county’s FOIA policy needs to be updated.

Commissioners will pay $250 for the policy to be updated. The county received $96.35 in revenue from 13 public information requests in 2019. The county received $11.50 in revenue in 2018 for 12 requests.

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