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Committee hears about FOIA workload and seeks clarity on police equipment and staffing requests
Summary
Town Administrator Kate Bush and First Selectman Fred Camillo told the committee FOIA requests are consuming staff time; members also pressed the administration about an apparent omission of a police boat replacement from this year’s book and about police staffing increases described in a department presentation.
Town Administrator Kate Bush told the Budget Committee that one large FOIA matter has required many staff hours and that FOIA compliance can pull senior staff from other work. "Right now, I am...going through emails related to the rink committee. Started out with, like, 450 of them," Bush said, and noted that staff must review each email for responsiveness and attorney‑client privilege before production.
First Selectman Fred Camillo described FOI as an important transparency tool but warned about repetitive or vexatious requests that consume high‑paid staff time and sometimes require trips to Hartford for adjudication. "FOI is a great tool for sunshine...but when it's weaponized...we have to comply with it," Camillo said, asking for patience as staff process complex requests.
Committee members also questioned police priorities. Harry asked why the police boat replacement identified in a prior police presentation did not appear in the current budget; Kate Bush said she would check the original submissions to confirm whether the boat request was pushed out or otherwise handled. Members also raised the department’s request for additional positions; Kate Bush said she did not reduce police staffing requests and that the committee would get detail when police present to the committee.
Why it matters: FOIA workloads affect operations across the administration and may affect how staff time is budgeted; equipment and staffing decisions in the police department carry public‑safety and budget implications. Kate Bush and Fred Camillo committed to returning with additional details on FOIA processing and to confirm the status of the police boat and staffing requests when police appear before the committee.
Next steps: administration will check submission records for the police boat request and confirm staffing figures with the police department. Committee will also follow up on FOIA resourcing as part of personnel and operational discussions.
