Public commenters urge more public records access, raise FOIA and court-records concerns

During public comment, Phil Lombard of Verno said he had sought emails between Oakland County and Flock Safety through Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, narrowed his request to correspondence involving a named commissioner, and was told the county would charge $316 to fulfill the narrower request. Lombard said that fee burdened a retired person and argued the correspondence is of public interest; he also said some sheriff’s office materials and the sheriff’s drone policy (General Orders No. 62) are not available on the county’s public archive. "That's a lot of money to read official correspondence dealing with the potential lucrative contract," Lombard said, and he urged the county to make more records available online and to record and publish the responsibilities of the majority caucus.

Margaret Gupta of Oakland Township told the committee she has repeatedly pursued hearing and records issues and alleged that multiple Zoom hearing transcripts and court-related records have been corrupted or altered, that phone numbers have been made invalid in judicial records, and that she has been denied access to files she said would prove alleged misconduct. Gupta warned the committee that when a county fails to investigate alleged judicial corruption, "it triggers a range of legal, ethical, and constitutional violations" and said silence by elected officials can amount to complicity.

No staff or commissioner response resolving the specific record requests or the allegations was recorded in the committee discussion. The committee closed the public comment period and proceeded with its agenda; commissioners did not take formal action on the FOIA or judicial-records claims during the meeting.