How do I file a public-records request in Gratiot County?
Michigan's Freedom of Information Act says all persons, except those held in state or local correctional facilities, are entitled to full and complete information about the affairs of government. A person who wants to inspect or receive a copy of a public record makes a written request to the public body's FOIA coordinator. Each county office, city, township and school district answers its own requests.
What counts as a public record?
Public record, exemption. Under FOIA, a public record is a writing prepared, owned, used, possessed or retained by a public body in performing an official function. Section 15.243 lists information a body may exempt from disclosure. (Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.232; MCL 15.243)
What do offices charge, and what if I disagree?
Fees are where disputes arise. In one case a requester asked for digital parcel, zoning and address data and argued the county used the wrong fee formula; commissioners disagreed 5-0 and cited a different state law that governs bulk mapping data (County Board Denies Records Requester’s Appeal Over GIS Data Fee). St. Louis put a proposal before its council to price complete assessment and cemetery-data exports at $1,000 each while leaving ordinary individual-record requests under existing law (St. Louis Packet Proposes $1,000 Fees for Two Bulk Data Exports). We are not lawyers; for legal advice about a request, ask one.
Can I ask without giving my name?
Some offices say they will not answer anonymous questions: the county administrator wrote that he will not respond to questions posed by anonymous persons (Animal Control Inquiry Routed to County Administration After Publication Seeks Comment). We have noted that Michigan's FOIA requires a name and mailing address on a request for documents, which is why our volunteer public representatives sign ours.
What happens to parts of a record that are exempt?
Redaction. Michigan's FOIA does not use the word. It requires a public body to separate exempt from nonexempt material in a record and make the nonexempt material available. (Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.244(1))
Which requests has Gratiot County Whistleblower made?
Every request for comment we have sent, with its reply or lack of one, is on the Requests for comment log. Records requests that wait for a named volunteer to sign are not yet filed.
Sources
Keep reading
- Gratiot County Board of Commissioners
- Gratiot County courts (civic items only)
- How do I speak at a Gratiot County commissioners meeting?
- When does the Alma City Commission meet?
- When does the St. Louis City Council meet?
- When does the Ithaca City Council meet?
- Where does my Gratiot County property tax go?