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Board upholds FOIA fee for researcher’s request for 2000–2024 permit reports
Summary
Trustees voted to uphold fees for a Freedom of Information Act appeal seeking residential electrical and mechanical permit reports from 2000–2024; staff said the request would require substantial staff time and the township lacks a simple export the requester sought.
Canton Township’s Board of Trustees voted July 8 to uphold the township’s fee determination for a FOIA appeal filed by a researcher requesting building permit reports for residential electrical and mechanical permits issued from 2000 through 2024. The motion to uphold the fee was made by Clerk Kirk Siegrist and supported by Trustee Berninski; the board approved the motion by voice vote.
Staff explained the building department estimates about 16 hours of staff time to pull and review the records and that the reports will require review and separation of exempt material, which increases staff time. Meeting materials state the total expected fee for production was about $484.82 and that the township required a 50% deposit of $242.41; staff also noted earlier estimates in the email exchange attached to the request referenced higher amounts. The board discussion reflected that the township’s records system does not provide the kind of simple filtered export the requester sought and that fulfilling the request will require producing documents rather than a prefiltered spreadsheet.
The requester identified themself in the appeal as a researcher and PhD student working on a study of household generators, battery storage and heat-pump adoption. Trustees acknowledged the requester’s research purpose but said FOIA standards require the township to charge for staff time when requests are broad and time-consuming. One trustee asked whether the requester had indicated intended use; staff read an excerpt of the requester’s stated research interest from the appeal materials.
During discussion trustees noted the volume of records across 24 years and that the township has tens of thousands of permits during that period. After discussion the board voted to uphold the fee determination and proceed under the township’s FOIA procedures. The meeting record does not show a precise final numeric spelled out during the motion in the audible transcript; the RBA (request background) included the $484.82 estimate and the related 50% deposit figure.
