Why Have an FOIA Policy When You Don't Even Follow It?

[Eve Alone]

I made a FOIA request recently in which I went down to the City Hall to inspect the W-2 Forms of all city employees in 2008, finding a few interesting things in the process.  I sent the following request last Tuesday in an effort to get to the bottom of how the City Council's salary went from $50 per year in the 1990's to its current rate of $3600, yes that is a 72-fold increase.

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Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 3:20 PM
To: John Shay
Subject: FOIA Request

When the current charter was adopted on August 4, 1992 the City Clerk at that time noted in section 17.10: "The Mayor shall continue to receive an annual salary in the amount of Three Hundred Dollars ($300), and each Council Member shall continue to receive an annual salary of Fifty Dollars ($50), until such amounts are changed by the Council in accordance with the provisions of this Charter." Those provisions noted that this shall be done by ordinance and shall not be increased during their terms of office.

Under provisions of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (MCLA 15.231 et seq; MSA 4.1801 (1) et seq) I am requesting, preferably in electronic records sent to this E-Mail address, public records detailing all ordinances passed since that time (August 4, 1992- present) wherein the mayor's or city council's salaries were raised, and the minutes from the meeting wherein it was passed.

If you determine that some of the requested information is exempt from disclosure, please detail what is being withheld and cite the exemption under FOIA.

If fees to comply with this request exceed $20, please contact me at this E-Mail address with those fees enumerated.

As provided under FOIA, I would anticipate my request being filled within five working days of receipt of this letter.

 

I received this reply early this Monday:

 

From: John Shay <[e-mail]>
Cc: Richard Wilson <[e-mail]>
Sent: Mon, January 17, 2011 8:24:39 AM
Subject: RE: FOIA Request

Dear Ms.  

I have attached the City of Ludington ’s response to your FOIA request.  The itemization of the $114.51 fee is as follows: 

It took City Clerk Deborah Luskin 3 hours to search through all of the public records since 1992 to locate the public records you requested.  At $38.17 per hour (wages and benefits combined), this amounts to $114.51. 

Upon receipt of your payment in full, the City will release the records that you have requested. 

John Shay

City Manager

City of Ludington

The attached response said the request was granted, and to remit $114.51 to cover costs; it also said it was denied, requested records exempt from disclosure because a public record does not exist under the name given or by another reasonably known by the FOIA Coordinator.  Is he saying no such ordinance(s) were discovered?  Review by me and XLFD noted other disturbing things.  I replied Monday afternoon and gave some of our newspaper friends a copy:  

 

	John Shay <[e-mail]>; Richard Wilson <[e-mail]>
	k holman <[e-mail]>; tom rotta [e-mail]; [e-mail] FOIA%2520Policy-Revised%25202010%5B1%5D.pdf

I am confused.  I have attached a copy of the City's amended FOIA policy sent to me on December 22, 2011.  Section 5c of that policy says that a 'good faith deposit' is required for requests that the FOIA Coordinator determines to be over $50 that is to be no more than one-half of the total fee determined.  You can only request that the amount be paid in full if I failed to pay that deposit once requested.  You demand payment in full immediately.

 

You have also claimed a partial denial of this request, yet you have not included in your reply an explanation of the partial denial or a brief description of public records not provided, etc. as the new policy demands that you provide (section 7 a-e). 

 

You have also claimed I owe this money because it would take the City Clerk, Ms. Luskin, three hours to compile my request.  For this type of request, I find it difficult to believe that Ms. Luskin is the lowest paid employee/clerk capable of retrieving such material, although this again is what you are required to charge me for under the current FOIA policy, section 5b. 

 

The three hours seems also like a lot of time for a professional of Ms. Luskin's caliber, since a quick review of the city ordinances (which I would presume are on computer files) should turn the applicable ordinances quickly with a 'search' of key words.  And then just sending the associated  minutes through e-mail.

 

I have told you in the past that I qualify to be indigent and can provide an affidavit for that fact.  I am just a private citizen of this town who wonders, along with a growing amount of others, how the salary for City Councilors climbed from $50 per year a few years ago, to the current level of $3600, a 7200 percent increase.  The fact that you wish to charge me over $100 for this information speaks volumes.

 

Please clarify your positions on my above confusions, and consider this an appeal of your decision if you cannot.  Attorney Wilson, I request this to be brought before the Ludington Board of Ethics for the above misuse of the FOIA Policy by the City Manager.

 

 

 

[Sweater Cows!]

WOW, is it that hard to read there own rules. That guy is incompetent. i mean when you have rules for doing a job(I have plenty, mostly state law (manuals). I can find about anything in them in about half an hour. Sometimes I have to sit down and read the details of a section or chapter, but i read it (the manual) once just to be familiar with how to use it and where to find the info. Heck, If I have down time I even pull it out just to look at parts for my own curiosity and to make sure I am doing things right. Shay has no love for his job.

 

 

[Willy]

In my opinion the FOIA act has made obtaining information more difficult instead of easier. Governmental agencies are using FOIA to put up roadblocks to hinder citizens from obtaining information already paid for by tax payers. Many folks feel it is to much of a hassle.

 

On the pay raise issue. I think the pay scale for Councilers is to low at $3600. They put in a lot of time and effort. More tiime than most people realize. They have to make some hard decision which can be controversial and must listen to citizens complaints over and over. I know they volunteered for the job but that doesn't make it any easier.

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Dis...

 

Many of us can't afford the FIOA request. What makes you think we can afford a retainer for an ATTY?? Especially one in the town in which the case is being investigated?

The first step in any legal remedy is research, to see if any laws or statutes are being violated or misused. A process of which anyone asking under the FIOA act(written to be for just this purpose by the way)

The fact those powers that be are going out of their way to abuse, re-rewrite and otherwise twist the law, to not comply with it, gives the appearance of an actual improprieties, where none may exsist. But because of the arrogance in the process it appears bad for those claiming no non compliance occured.

 

I can just hear someone in city hall reading my post and saying," if you cant afford a FIOA request you have no business challenging our city planners". Gee is that the very definition of arrogance AND DISREGARD FOR THOSE WHO ELECTED OR APPOINTED YOU?

[XLFD]

Disarm's near-sightedness is part of the public record here.  Shay violated his new policy multiple times in denying Eve's request and he tries to justify the time it would take to get this information, while apparently showing how easy it was for him to get the info. 

$300 per month might not seem like a bad deal, until you consider that all they really need to do minimally is sit at a couple of meetings and ignore their mail.  I and other concerned citizens see people that have control of their own pay raises have multiplied their salary by 72 times in the period of 15 years, when the rate of inflation is a about 50% during that time. 

[Willy]

XLFD

May I suggest that you run for City Council. It would definately give Shay, the fire chief, police chief and any other official, who needs Council approval, the heebie jeebies thinking they would have to answer to you sometime in the future.  If you really have a gripe with shay and others why not go to the council meetings and voice your opions and challenge them to adress your concerns. The few people who use this forum certainly are not going to affect any meaningful change unless positive action is taken.

[XLFD]

Now RJE, that would surely indict me of madness.  Just me against at least four unfriendly councilors (who have consistently ignored me so far), the City Manager (whose position would be eliminated if I could get my way), the City Attorney (who I would ship back to Manistee), the Mayor (who I cannot comment on), not to mention Joe Moloney, Chief Mark Barnett, Heather Loney, etc. whose follies I have touched on here. 

People judge you by the company you keep.  Besides being the one in a lot of 6-1 votes, I am not convinced at this time, that my running for CC would be good for me or for this city.  A lot of my friends, family and co-workers have and would be affected by the backlash of the local machine. 

[XLFD]

Here's what the bottom half of her reply looks like, Disarm, a denial.  Eve's copying and pasting is to preserve her own private information.  Do you respect that right to privacy?

 

[Willy]

Passing paperwork back and forth is not going to settle anything. Go to the Council meeting and ask your questions and request that an answer be given at the meeting. If they refuse to answer your questions at the meeting then you have some proof on record that they are refusing to do their jobs by denying a citizens concerns as to how decisions have been made. If Shay said he found the information and needs to be paid for it then I assume the above denial slip was mistakenly sent and was intended for another person or for a different FOIA request by Eve.

[XLFD]

Passing paperwork back and forth is good for establishing a pattern of continuing disregard of FOIA policy if you are making such a case. 

The denial was not mistakenly sent.  I have got several 'semi-rejection' slips from CM/FOIAC Shay where he says the request has been granted and I am to pay X dollars, followed by a denial saying that the records have not been found.  He never explains this.  Never. 

As for the City Council, five of them have E-mail addresses and have received the bases for my appeal from me, yet they have overlooked it when it came before them twice in session.  None have ever replied to my FOIA concerns. 

[XLFD]

The FOIA Coordinator has some of her private information.  Her name, her address, her E-mail address.  Let me return your questions with a question.  Should he be giving that private information away freely? 

 

[Guidothesemipsuedocaptitalistpig]

Just because they know her identity does not mean they can openly divulge it to others dis...That would be lawsuit material.. And to that end, we here, do not release any more information about an individual that they want release to the general public.

 

And as far as opinions go this is the purpose of this forum, Opinion discussion. The fact some of us use events and links to validate our opinions to make them more valid, is really the only point made here. You do not have to agree with my synopsis. but the fact I use actual facts to show where I derive my opinions are what makes a debate even worth having.

 

To put it crassly.. opinions are like a-holes everyone has one. If you can prove one stinks more than another.. Now you have a debate!!! peace out!!!

[XLFD]

Good anal-ogy, Guido.