Waterford trustees uphold one FOIA denial and delay another as residents press transparency on Flock Safety

The Charter Township of Waterford Board of Trustees on April 27 adopted a resolution upholding the Police Department’s denial of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for internal dispatch (CAD) notes and LEIN administrative markers, and delayed consideration of a second FOIA fee-waiver appeal tied to the township’s communications with Flock Safety.

The board considered two separate appeals during its meeting. For the appeal by Bret Williams, township counsel Joellen Shortley told trustees the department had withheld the records under exemptions in Michigan’s FOIA law, citing MCL 15.243(1)(b)(v) and (vi) — records that would disclose law enforcement techniques or endanger personnel — and MCL 28.214 governing Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) information. After discussion, Trustee Sam Harris moved and Trustee Marie E. Hauswirth seconded a resolution upholding the denial; the motion carried unanimously.

Separately, resident Taya Lyons appealed the Police Department’s denial of a requested waiver of estimated FOIA fees for a broader set of records — including communications between township officials and Flock Safety and related contract materials. The police provided a line-item fee estimate and required a 50% deposit before starting an extensive search, the board was told. Chief Underwood explained much of the correspondence would require review and potential redaction because the majority of the communications were authored by the chief and could include law-enforcement-sensitive material.

After questioning from trustees, the board voted to postpone action on Lyons’s appeal for up to 10 business days, directing staff to provide the contract to the requester and to determine whether that disclosure would satisfy the request and reduce the scope of any search or redactions.

The meeting’s public-comment periods contained repeated objections to Flock Safety and township FOIA practices. Multiple residents urged the board to waive FOIA fees and called for more transparency about the vendor’s use and data practices. Mary Bartolotta, who spoke during the agenda-only public comment period, asked the board to note that a pending Priority Waste transaction would not change Waterford’s service contract terms. Other speakers — including Taya Lyons, Jennifer Newton and several local residents — urged the township to release communications and to subject Flock Safety to public scrutiny.

Township attorney Shortley advised trustees that, if the board reduced or upheld a fee, written findings or references to the statutory fee-calculation provisions should accompany the decision. The board’s short delay on the Lyons appeal leaves open an administrative path for providing some contract materials quickly while staff determine the effort required to search, assemble and redact additional records.

The board meets again on its regular schedule; the clerk’s office will issue written notices of the board’s FOIA decisions to appellants as required by statute.