MTA Presentation Shares Importance of Understanding FOIA
(Crystal A. Proxmire, March 3, 2024)
Lansing, MI – The Freedom of Information Act is a tool for members of the public to be informed about the actions of elected officials who are serving on their behalf. As part of their commitment to making sure local governments know the rules, organizations like the Michigan Townships Association do trainings to help. Oakland County Times was able to attend the most recent virtual training aimed at teaching FOIA coordinators their responsibilities and the importance of ongoing education about how to handle requests for information property.
Catherine Mullhaupt, staff attorney for the MTA, shared her wisdom with dozens of officials from across the state at the Feb. 14 training.
She explained that FOIA rules are the same for any size township. They also apply to other governmental entities including cities, villages, library boards, school boards, county boards, and state offices though the Governor’s office and state legislators are exempt. Proposed legislation, if passed, would broaden FOIA to include those entities.
“It doesn’t matter how big or small, or where you’re located, it’s the same,” Mullhaupt said. “The requirements are the same here if you have a full service urban/suburban township with large campuses, or you’re more rural and you just have a small hall, and if you don’t have a hall at all and you work out of a mailbox basically with your houses, it does not matter. There are no allowances in the FOIA for size or cost.”
The basic guiding principle repeated often in the presentation is that FOIA is part of democracy, and a FOIA coordinator should “start from a place of yes.”
“You’re going to get in more trouble not giving out the records than if you somehow gave out too much information. The emphasis is on the public’s right know,” she said. “Even if it’s your local gadfly and they’re just trying to make a point, you know what, they have a right to.”
Townships (and other governmental entities) are required to appoint a FOIA coordinator and to adopt guidelines both internally and a public guideline. MTA has sample guidelines that townships can use. “You cannot charge FOIA fees if you do not have a public summary,” she said.
The FOIA coordinator must respond to requests within required time frames, and provide a detailed cost breakdown. “You can only charge what the FOIA allows you to charge,” Mullhaupt said, meaning that entities cannot make up extra fees over and above what the law allows.
Having a designated coordinator means there is accountability, but that person may also work with others in the government to fill the requests. Documents may be in different departments or in different official’s hands. Also, requests may come in to any department or official, so everyone involved needs to know how to recognize a request and get it to the FOIA coordinator ASAP so the deadline to reply is not missed.
Recognizing a FOIA is important. FOIA requests are any requests for documents or information. “It doesn’t have to say FOIA in big letters, or ‘official request.’ There’s no official form that anybody has to use,” Mullhaupt said. “It doesn’t have to say, or scream, FOIA request. Everyone needs to understand that.”
The request does need to be in writing. Though if someone makes a verbal request, the government may still respond.
It’s important to know who can make a request, and it’s simple. “Anybody can make a FOIA request. Anybody. The only exception is a person who is a prisoner in state or federal prison,” she said.
She also said that no matter how many requests someone makes, the requests must still be considered. “You can’t say after so many requests this person is blacklisted. There is no such thing.” Bodies also cannot add on extra requirements to make FOIA requests more difficult.
Members of the public can also subscribe to receive regular documents. “A lot of people forget this,” Mullhaupt said. “a person has the right to subscribe to future issuances of public records that are created, issued, or distributed on a regular basis.
“As the courts have understood this, the best example is things that you know – we’re going to have meetings all year, we will have minutes and meeting agendas. I can sign up and say I want all the monthly packets or agendas, or the planning commission agendas. So at the same time you send them to commission members, by subscription you email it to me. Or the minutes. As soon as the minutes are done and the township has made them public, I get them… Subscription is valid up to six months at the request of the subscriber and is renewable if I want it to be.”
She added that if paper documents are requested, the fee can only cover the cost. “These days most being digital there really isn’t anything you can charge for. And if it’s the press you can’t charge anything.”
Mullhaupt also shared that requests do not have to name the exact document needed. If someone requests information and someone knows where to find it, that’s sufficient. The example she gave was if someone requests a list of proposed expenditures, sending them the budget would fill that request even if the requestor does not specifically say “budget” in their request. The FOIA coordinator can reach out to someone who makes a request to ask for clarification if needed.
Another common issue is the timeline. A body has 5 business days to respond to a request, and can extend by ten days. Business days are not the days that an office is open. Business days are M-F regardless of an entity’s office hours. Extensions are for unusual circumstances, such as a large amount of materials requested or the need to collect documents from multiple places.
While the presentation talked about the technicalities of approvals and denials, the underlying theme was that local governments should be there to help people get the information they need.
“We don’t play hard to get,” Mullhaupt said. “This is not a game. You’re the government. You’ve doing things to people that have a right to know. They have a right to this information.”
“This is always a customer service opportunity,” she said. Those that don’t do this right, can find themselves in court, with the costs and time that go along with it.
Michigan Townships Association provides a plethora of resources to member communities. Individuals and officials can speak with their own legal council to learn more about FOIA laws as they pertain to their own situation, and this story is not to be considered legal advice. Learn more about MTA at https://michigantownships.org/.
Learn more about FOIA in Michigan at https://www.michigan.gov/ag/foia
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