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Board grants FOIA appeal, approves production for William Burgo at cost
Summary
The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners granted a FOIA appeal by William Burgo, determined responsive records were not exempt, and approved production upon payment of a $34.83 production fee; commissioners encouraged public use of the county’s FOIA portal.
The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners voted 5–0 to grant an appeal filed by William Burgo and to provide responsive records identified by staff after determining they were not exempt under FOIA. The board approved charging the requester $34.83 to cover the cost of production; staff said they will release the records once payment is received.
Commissioners and staff discussed procedural questions about use of the county’s FOIA portal (the county’s tracking software) and how to treat documentation that is already publicly available online; county staff said they can respond that requested material is publicly available and direct requesters to the public packet rather than reproduce documents. The board also discussed attorney–client privileged documents that appear in internal packets: such items are locked from the public site and can only be released by vote of the board if necessary.
Staff described steps already taken to contact the requester and noted that many requesters comply when county staff asks them to submit through the portal, which assigns tracking numbers and due-date reminders. Commissioners directed staff to send the requester a cost estimate letter; staff will produce and mail the responsive package upon receipt of payment.
