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Town IT says FOI request went to spam; archive recovery underway
Summary
The town FOI coordinator said a December 16 FOI about the Flatiron proposal landed in spam and was recovered from an archive; staff said they are working to fulfill outstanding requests and have been in touch with the state ombudsman.
Councilors pressed town staff to explain why a Freedom of Information Act request tied to the Flatiron proposal had not been acknowledged or answered for months.
Martin Stankovich, the town's FOI compliance coordinator, told the council the request was sent to mayor@newmilfordct.gov and also to an incorrectly spelled town council address on Dec. 16. "The towncouncil@newmilfordct.gov email is incorrect," he said, and the initial message went into a spam folder; IT recovered the message from an archive and staff are working to fulfill the request.
Stankovich said the office has been in contact with the state ombudsman and acknowledged that heavy request volume and limited staff hours can delay responses. Councilors asked for a firm deadline and for staff to check whether any subsequent follow-up email went into spam. The mayor said he would have staff investigate the timeline and return with answers before the next meeting.
Hillary Grama, the requester, had filed complaints with the state FOI commission; council members emphasized the municipality's duty to respond timely and asked for an internal review so future FOI requests are acknowledged.
