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Residents raise FOIA fee and transparency concerns at Battle Creek meeting
Summary
Public commenters criticized the city’s handling of Freedom of Information Act requests and cited a $640 fee and delays that they say obstruct transparency; commissioners were urged to review FOIA procedures.
Several residents used the general public comment period to urge the commission to review how the city handles Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and to increase transparency.
Autumn Smith (Elk Creek) described filing a FOIA request for city records related to an incident and being charged $640 to process and redact the requested documents. Smith compared that response to other jurisdictions, saying she received a full report from the Livonia Police Department within 72 hours at no cost and hundreds of pages from Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for a $59 deposit. Smith said Battle Creek’s quoted fees and processing times give the appearance of “deliberate obstruction” and urged the commission to “take a serious look at how FOIA requests are being handled and to hold your departments to the same standard of honesty and accountability.”
Smith also said a partial denial letter referenced a city retaliation policy as justification for withholding some records. The transcript records the complaint and the request for a commission review; no administrative action or staff response was recorded during the meeting.
