Ludington Leaders Pledge Full Transparency of Records

[XLFD]

At the March 23, 2015 City Council meeting an interesting thing happened when they got to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal that came before them on the agenda.  Here's a transcript of what was said:

Mayor Cox:  "Next on the agenda, a FOIA appeal... and I'm wondering why we are still getting these.  I made a pledge to run this city transparently if I got elected, and yet I see these regularly come before the city council.  And they're pretty obviously looking to get records that should be readily available to the public, that someone wants to assign a bogus reason to keep those records from being publicly revealed.  This is a useless exercise that makes the city appear guilty of impropriety even when...

City Manager Shay:  "Thanks for that introduction, Mayor.  This is an appeal of Mr. Rotta's 523rd FOIA request..."

Councilor Holman:  "523rd, wasn't it only around two hundred something a month ago?  That's outrageous!"

Shay:  "The number is not important, this is like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (general laughter).  Anyhow, the request was for an arrest report along with supplements of a recent arrest.  Our FOIA Coordinator, at Chief Barnett's request and Prosecutor Spaniola's insistence, told Mr. Rotta that to release the information would interfere with law enforcement proceedings being that they were investigative records, and denied the records entirely.  The prosecutor and I suggest you better uphold the FOIA Coordinator's decision. 

Councilor Castonia:  " Now wait a minute, I was in law enforcement once, and I know for a fact that we were supposed to release arrest and incident reports with only addresses and other information of a personal nature deleted as soon as they were produced.  Is there further investigation going on after the arrest?

Shay:  "Not that I know of; the arrest was made after an investigation was completed, and the arrestee has already received the material Mr. Rotta requested according to the prosecutor for the purpose of his defense at trial.  But we need to deny these records to Mr. Rotta, because his possession of them would interfere with further proceedings.  Further, the prosecutor informed me that some irregularities in police procedure conducted by the LPD officers involved may give fuel to a future lawsuit against the city and so... (Shay whacked on the arm by Attorney Wilson)... I mean strike that last comment from the record Madam Clerk.  Mayor, please call a motion to uphold the FOIA Coordinator's decision."

Councilor Holman:  "Wait a second there, John.  I'll be nice... oh God, it hurts... but there is no way we can block this request.  I actually read the Michigan Supreme Court ruling that Mr. Rotta supplied to us, and there is absolutely no way we can legitimately withhold these records from Mr. Rotta, properly edited.  Even though we have been doing this for years, Mayor Cox is right.  We need to follow the rules...

Shay:  "Councilor, may I remind you that eight of those ten allegations Mr. Rotta made at the beginning of this meeting about me were actually discovered or confirmed by FOIA requests made to this city or other public agencies?  Allowing these records into his hands will likely result in him saying other nasty things about our police department, which we all love, right?  Don't give him any further ammunition to use against our boys in blue, which our own mayor is a proud member of."

Councilor Holman:  "That's irrelevant to the task at hand.  It gives me great pleasure to make a motion to NOT uphold the FOIA Coordinator's decision to deny records to Mr. Rotta.  I would also like a city council investigation into those allegations against Mr. Shay at the beginning of the meeting." 

If you hadn't figured it out by now:

The actual events of that night were actually much different, and if you've followed past rejections of FOIA requests by the city made by me, you wouldn't be surprised that the city not only upheld the decision to keep the mostly non-exempt public records to themselves, but also in various degrees, thumbed their noses at the Michigan Supreme Court and FOIA law itself.  All to protect an arrest report, the various warrants applicable (arrest and search warrants), and other supplements not generally considered 'investigative records'.  WARNING:  The April Fool's Day joke I just played on you, is a small joke in comparison to what was allowed that night, and what has been alleged the day of the arrest.  What follows is video footage of the meeting and a transcript of the city officials words, followed by a refutation.

March 22, 2015 Ludington City Council from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

City Manager John Shay: (1:04:45 into video)  "[XLFD] filed an appeal of a denial of his 271st FOIA request dated March 11th, in that FOIA request, he was seeking the police report and any supplements/addenda likely generated by LPD Officer Tony Kuster regarding the arrest of Gene Foster during a March 10, 2015 operation with SSCENT.

On March 18th, the FOIA Coordinator sent a response in which Mr. Rotta's FOIA request was denied, in the denial, the 'request was denied because the records are investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes and disclosure would interfere with proceedings, deprive the person of the right to a fair trial, constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or disclose the identity of a confidential source or disclose confidential information provide by a confidential source'.

The FOIA Coordinator did contact the Mason County Prosecutor, who confirmed that the release of this report would interfere with the law enforcement investigations, so he requested the report not be released under that exemption of FOIA, so the recommendation is to uphold the FOIA Coordinator's decision..."

City Councilor Kaye Holman:  "I would be... it gives me great pleasure to make a motion that we deny-- we uphold the FOIA Coordinator's response dated March 18, 2015 to [XLFD's] FOIA request of March 11, his 271st!"  Mayor Cox asks for a second, given by Councilor Winczewski, Cox reiterates the motion, asks for questions or comments, Holman says "Oh, yes."

" I'll be nice... oh God that hurts, I'll be nice.  Now my question is, we're paying an attorney right?  So, so many dollars an hour we're paying an attorney.  Plus we have people here in the police department or in the back that are looking for paperwork and... that's as nice as I can be... there's a lot of money we're wasting here, and I PERSONALLY RESENT IT, DEEPLY."

Mayor Cox:  "Thank you, any other questions and comments."

Michael Krauch:  "Mr. Mayor, I just want to comment, FOIA exists for a reason, it's a good thing.  Every citizen who wants to submit a FOIA request has the right to do so.  I think the basis of this... the action to be taken on it, is based on the law, and the interpretation of law, and my inclination is to uphold the FOIA Coordinator's reply, but it's on the basis of law and the FOIA Coordinator's recommendation in that regard.  Thank you."

Mayor Cox:  Any other questions or comments?

Attorney Richard Wilson: "I guess I'd like to, not to throw gasoline on any fires, but I would point out that under this exemption that the FOIA Coordinator has identified, there are, there are not time limits but at some point the Mason County Prosecuting Attorney's investigation into this matter will come to an end, and the exemption will no longer apply so that is, we may see this identical FOIA request at some point in the future, at which point, if the investigation is completed, I would expect the FOIA Coordinator would allow this."

On page 104-110 of the city council packet, the full response, replies and appeals are displayed which mirror the city manager's presentation of it.  In the city council's appeal, Shay states that the prosecutor  "confirmed that the release of this report would interfere with the law enforcement investigations", which is an even stricter narrowing of the focus of why they denied the records in the first place. 

The decision by the Michigan Supreme Court is the overriding authority for what should happen here, as can be read in  Evening News Ass'n v. City of Troy.  Briefly stated, a records request similar to mine was denied totally using the same blanket exemption by the City of Troy that records were investigative records whose disclosure would interfere with law enforcement investigations.  The court sagely decided that the records needed to be disclosed with exempt material redacted, a decision consistent with federal and other state court opinions.   

Redactions on an arrest report should be mostly limited to addresses, phone numbers, SS#'s, and names of minors involved, same for any warrants.  Supplemental reports typically have no redacted information.  As noted, the arresting agents involved, LPD Officer Tony Kuster and LPD SSCENT Officer David Krause, identities are already known. 

Calling warrants, arrest reports, and supplements to an arrest report "investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes whose disclosure would interfere with law enforcement proceedings" is an irrational proposition.  They aren't even part of an investigation, and to the extent that either officer unwisely includes some sensitive parts of an investigation therein, these can be redacted from the full report or warrant. 

Councilor Holman acting in the legal capacity as an arbiter/judge over whether the FOIA denial was proper, shows an amazing bit of bias in denying the appeal, not because of its lack of merit, but because she and her fellow councilors have decided to utilize lawyers for FOIA Coordinators, a costly proposition that can cost the city hundreds of dollars to respond to routine requests for information.  This definitely needs reforming, but five of the idiots who enthusiastically put this policy in place for purposes known only to them still sit on this seven member council. 

Four officials and one attorney, plus a prosecutor acting off camera, totally ignore FOIA law and the controlling legal authority made by the Michgan Supreme Court in rendering their own opinion based on lies about what constitutes an investigatory record and general monetary and personal concerns.  Fourth Ward puppet Michael Krauch is almost comical in saying that his decision to deny the information is based on (unstated) law and the FOIAC's recommendation (which was never given, only Shay and Spaniola gave recommendations). 

Every day the Ludington City Council meets appears to be All Fool's Day when they talk and act like this.

[shinblind]

Good one X.

Just before I got to the April Fools segment I was thinking this must be dream sequence from X.

The only thing missing were the residents of Ludington armed with pitchforks and torches in attendance. 

Sounds like the City Councilors  are stonewalling again in the hope that they can exceed the Statute of Limitations. 

[XLFD]

Thanks, shinblind, but I only have nightmares about this bunch and what they have done and might do. 

I get the feeling that the council just voted the way they were told to, and that FOIA Coordinator/Attorney Carlos Alvarado could not submit a believable refutation of the supreme court's ruling, so they had the prosecutor give the thumb's down without legal explanation because they believe his opinion carries some weight.  As usual, they forget America is a republic where such decisions are decided by laws, not personalities.

[Willy]

That first part of this topic is priceless. I figured out that you were joking before Mr. T because some of the statements were just to outrageous. I'm still laughing at your creativity.

What can be said about Holeman. She is a twit and is performing a disservice to all Ludington's citizens by showing up at the Council meetings and opening her mouth because she only demonstrates just how ignorant she can be. I'm trying hard to think of a nice word to describe her and I can only come up with words that would be considered inappropriate if uttered in front of anything that resembles a human.  Good work X.

[XLFD]

Oh, yes.   I'll be nice... oh God that hurts, I'll be nice.  Now my question is, we're paying her 72 times what is allowed by our city charter, right?  And then she represents her constituents like this when acting in the role of a judge... that's as nice as I can be... there's a lot of money we're wasting here, and I PERSONALLY RESENT IT, DEEPLY.

One of these days it would be nice if Sméagol Holman showed up rather than Gollum Holman.

[stump]

I got about half way through the first part and thought , what the hell's going on. Then even as I'm reading this on the 2nd of April I figured it out. Good one.

[XLFD]

If you've seen these guys in operation before, about the only city haller acting 'regularly' during the first part was John Shay and Attorney Wilson's elbow.  If you haven't figured out something is amiss by the second time Councilor Holman talks, you haven't seen them in action before.

[AQUAMAN]

Good April fools joke X, wish it weren't though. Shyster Shay has taken this FOIA issue to the hilt, and made this entire scenario into a sensation for council members, and the public, with the help of the LDN. This old movie has been running for over 5 years now, and Shay still thinks it plays just as good today, as year one. Shay won't answer to any standard request for general information UNLESS and UNTIL it's put in FOIA form, as long as it's requester is XLFD. It's become standard procedure, one not built on protecting records that are lawfully exempt, it's just another way to get vengeance on someone. All objectivity is totally lost here. As long as the city council members look at it the same way, like it's just another part of their circus theatrics, then  nothing will change. A common citizen can't even go into city hall and make a free will monetary donation for X's future FOIA requests, without Shyster Shay getting involved and rejecting it. In one case, city hall accepted a check for same, and Shay had them call the benefactor back 20 minutes later to advise a refund check was being issued to deny that request too. Is that legal or fair? Anyone with any common sense can see this deal as a rerun going over and over again, except I guess for the city council. They too seem to be more interested in seeking petty vengeance against any citizen that wants information that might soil their perfect records of integrity. I say, "what integrity"? Perfect record of what?  I don't see any. I'll just bet that Alvarez has no other FOIA requests outside of X's that he routinely reviews. He was hired, just like S.Sniegowski, to tackle one person's requests, and only one person. That in itself isn't just unjust, it's a joke on the entire public paying for these needless attorney hours that Shay wants to hold up for ridicule in wasted tax expenses. Well then, if he doesn't want that waste, then why did he himself create it? He's consistently and repeatedly pointing the finger at an innocent party, instead of the guy in his mirror.

[Willy]

Good points Aquaman. It would be interesting to see a timeline of what has transpired regarding abuse of the Constitutional and civil rights of the people of ludington since Shay was crowned. From interfering influence in the Courts to over the top policing to banning citizens from City Hall to illegal action against the FOIA to questionable City projects to just plain ignoring the citizens who pay the bills. When the Council, Mayor, Manager, the police or any other City employee act contrary to the legitimate concerns of any member of the public it is a slight against all of Ludingtons citizens.

[XLFD]

I have been monitoring the invoices of both FOIA Coordinators (Sniegowski and Alvarado) to see how much time and money are wasted-- because, after all, the $125 per hour they charge the city for the administrative task is a waste of public money (and the total fault of this out of touch council) whether you think the FOIAC attorneys are doing a good job or not.

Since October 2013, there has been a couple citizens using the service other than me, but beyond that, the only time I can recall when the local news (and other news agencies) submitted a FOIA request was during the Trooper Sammy Seymour traffic stop (two days after I submitted a broader request).  That tells you something about how involved our newspaper and other traditional media  is with local issues-- if it's not spoon fed to them, they won't look at it unless it's something sensationalistic like a state trooper caught in a DWI.  And our current city hall wants to hold that spoon.

I and those other citizens can hold our own damn spoons, but Nursemaid Holman and her kin want to shame us back to the infantile state enjoyed by the other media by their inane prattle glorifying ignorance.

[AQUAMAN]

Thanks willy, but I think that timeline you mentioned was really given already by X at the last CC mtg.. It was the list of reasons why Shyster Shay should be fired, there was 10 reasons given since his hiring. The LDN editor in chief, Benoche the benevolent high prince, stated the LDN gave X his lesson in getting info. via FOIA to begin with. Now they feel they betrayed their benefactor, the COL in doing so. That's an infantile reason if you ask me, for attacking X the way they have for the last several years. So that mindset, of hey, we gave you the ammunition to get info., then you beat us to the punch on news, so we won't play with you anymore, sounds pretty juvenile at best to me. As stated previously, I would like to see just how many FOIA's Alvarez and SS processed since they were appointed FOIA directors, and what the actual costs were to the taxpayers. That's all on Shay's back, and no one else in fact and reality. Shay just wants to reverse the situation to make X look like the bad guy, it's simple reverse psychology, a ploy that's used when someone knows they are the culprit of wrongdoing.