County staff delivered a refresher on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and presented a new standard operating guideline (SOG 09) for how the county and planning commissioners should process, search and respond to FOIA requests involving commission business.

The presenter, identified in the meeting as Jason (staff member), summarized basic FOIA rules and the new guideline’s step-by-step workflow: day 1 notification, day 2 county search of loudoun.gov email accounts, day 3 commissioner review of additional sources, day 4 internal legal review of materials flagged for withholding, and day 5 formal FOIA response. “A meeting is defined as any formal meeting or informal gathering of 2 or more commissioners where public business is or may be discussed,” Jason said, stressing that emails, text messages and social-media interactions among commissioners can trigger open-meeting requirements.

Staff and the county FOIA officer (identified as Jenny) described roles: the FOIA officer conducts searches of Loudoun County email accounts (with commissioner authorization), DPZ’s assistant director will serve as a liaison, and the county attorney’s office will advise on exemptions and withheld materials. Commissioners were asked to provide responsive non-email records (personal notes, texts, social-media content) for review when necessary and to indicate whether they believe particular records should be withheld and why.

Multiple commissioners raised concerns about workload, response time and practical constraints. “That’s a pretty big task especially when there may be questions about responsiveness or a vagueness to the request or uncertainty about reasons to withhold,” Commissioner Combs said, noting that many commissioners have full-time jobs and travel. Commissioners suggested the county narrow broad requests, seek extensions when searches are voluminous, or accept a commissioner’s authorization to release the content of their county email account without requiring per-item review.

Staff said informal FOIA requests (including verbal or email requests that do not use the term FOIA) still trigger the guidelines and advised commissioners to notify DPZ staff and the FOIA officer immediately on receipt. The FOIA workflow presented allows for requesting more time when necessary; staff said they will work with requesters to narrow scope or agree on additional time.

What’s next: staff agreed to take commission feedback to county administration for potential refinements to the SOP, including commissioners’ requests that the county: (1) take primary responsibility for searches of county-controlled records, (2) consider a simplified approach that allows commissioners to authorize release of all content in their Loudoun.gov accounts without individualized review, and (3) provide confirmation to each commissioner when the county has completed and closed a FOIA response.