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Livingston County upholds FOIA fee estimate and affirms denial for court records
Summary
The Livingston County Board upheld a $234.12 FOIA fee estimate for a broad records search and also upheld a denial of a separate request that involved court records, voting 7-0 on both actions and authorizing the chair to sign written responses.
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 9 upheld a Freedom of Information Act fee estimate for a wide-ranging records request and separately sustained a denial for a request that involved court records, voting 7-0 on each item.
Clerk’s office staff told the board the request from Victoria Cadostin sought communications from Jan. 1, 2024, through the present across roughly a dozen search terms and multiple email domains. IT estimated 1.5 hours to run the search and the clerk’s office estimated 3 hours for review and redaction. The clerk said the total fee estimate was $234.12 and the county policy requires a 50% deposit to begin work.
"That fee estimate is $234.12," the clerk said during the meeting. The board voted to uphold the estimate and authorized the chair to issue a written response.
On a separate appeal by Yvonne Black, county counsel explained the requested records included court communications that "are not subject to FOIA" because the judiciary is a separate branch and court records are governed by the court. Commissioners discussed that even if the board were to reverse a denial, the county could not produce documents the court controls.
County counsel advised the options were to uphold the denial, reverse it, or reverse in part. The board voted to uphold the denial and granted authority for the board chair to sign the written response, 7-0.
The actions finish the county’s administrative response on both appeals; the clerk said the deposit and search could be adjusted if actual staff time differs from the estimate.
