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County attorney says new FOIL software reduces staff time on records requests

3050263 · April 11, 2025

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Summary

Warren County adopted a records-request management platform to reduce staff time; the county attorney clarified the attorney's role as FOIL appeals officer and said the system does not sell email addresses.

Warren County Board of Supervisors — The county attorney reported the county has implemented a software system to manage FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests and said the tool has cut staff time spent processing requests.

In a brief statement, the county attorney said the county receives roughly 400 FOIL requests a year and that the county's confidential secretary previously spent two to three hours per request, adding up to nearly 40% of her time. The county moved to a CivicPlus product (NextRequest) to handle intake, redaction and tracking of requests. The county attorney said the platform "does redactions" and "greatly reduced the time" staff spend processing requests.

The county attorney also clarified the attorney's role in FOIL processing: the county attorney does not review each FOIL response before release; instead, the county attorney serves as the official FOIL appeals officer for Warren County and reviews appeals of FOIL responses.

Why it matters: FOIL requests affect public access to records and require staff time and legal oversight. Changing the records-management tool affects how requests are received, processed and appealed and can save staff time and county dollars.

Details: The county attorney explained the software vendor does not sell email addresses and emphasized that the change has reduced staff workload and associated costs. The county attorney said the county considered hiring a dedicated FOIL staff position (estimated cost $35,000 to $40,000 plus fringe) before choosing the software. The board heard the clarification that appeals remain the county attorney's responsibility.

Ending: The county attorney concluded that the tool has made a "big difference" in managing FOIL requests and thanked the board for support.