Freedom Of Information Law Tips

Lessons from an FOI frequent flier

One of the underlying themes of this blog is that public agencies need to learn how to deal effectively with what I like to call FOI “frequent fliers.” These are the citizens — or entities in the case of organizations and newspapers — who account for the vast majority of Freedom of Information requests (and appeals).

Why do I raise this point today? Because this is the third post in a row about Robin Elliott, an inmate at the Northern Correctional Institution who spends his time in jail filing FOI requests.

Today’s FOIA appeal involves a video recording viewed during a disciplinary hearing involving Mr. Elliot. The Department of Correction denied the request because providing Mr. Elliot could result in a safety risk. The Freedom of Information Commission agreed, holding that the video was exempt from the Freedom of Information Act under Connecticut General Statutes § 1-210(b)(18).

So no harm, no foul, as they say on the playground, right? Not exactly.

Mr. Elliot also requested copies of the weekly disciplinary summary, and the DOC did not search those records. Because of this, the FOIC held that the DOC failed to prove that they conducted a diligent search for all responsive records and therefore failed to prove that they provided all the requested records. The DOC was ordered to take another look and provide the records free of charge.

Although that may not be a “big deal” from the DOC’s perspective, an important lesson can still be learned from this case. When you have a FOI frequent flier, make sure to dot your i’s and cross your t’s. An appeal is probably coming and you need to show that you did everything right.

Read Full Decision in Elliot v. Warden, Doc. No. FIC 2008-733, here.

What is the best way for your city or town to reduce open government compliance costs?

cityorbrainbridgeisland The good folks over at the Open-Government Blog recently raised a very good point about how municipalities can reduce the costs associated with Freedom of Information requests.

So what’s the key factor to reducing the costs of FOI requests? A government’s openness and transparency. If citizens don’t trust their government, they file more FOI requests.

Bainbridge Island, Washington provides a compelling example of this point in action. Here’s what a recent article from the Kitsup Sun has to say about records requests in Bainbridge Island.

Island residents’ growing desire to peer at the inner workings of their city government is slowing the municipal machine.

In search of financial documents, e-mail correspondence, development permits and sometimes archival materials spanning decades, residents made more than 630 public records requests to the city last year.

The number and scope of requests are becoming a workload and financial burden disproportionate to the city’s size and shrinking budget, city managers say.

“We’re at five times the number of requests of comparable cities,” City Attorney Paul McMurray said. “It’s a huge number of requests for a city of 22,000.”

And the politicians and citizens of Bainbridge Island know what has caused the recent spike in FOI requests: mistrust of local government.

The reason for the flood of requests is clear, Mayor Darlene Kordonowy said.

“We have lost trust from the community,” she said.

While islanders have built a reputation for strong involvement in local government, they’ve also earned a bit of infamy for an equally robust distrust for it.

Controversial land-use or public-financing decisions often spur requests for information. If requests hit roadblocks or delays along the way, distrust only grows.

“My feeling is that the city created this by not being more forthcoming,” said Rod Stevens, who has filed about a dozen records requests with the city. “We don’t have transparent government. People raise a lot of questions, but neither the mayor or the administration respond to them.”

The result for city is more administrative work with higher costs while at the same time staff is being reduced due to the recession. The clear lesson that we can learn from Bainbridge Island is that the best way to keep freedom of information compliance costs down is to have an open government that people trust.

Freedom of Information Law / Freedom of Information Law Tips / Freedom of Information Law Websites — No Comments
9
Mar 09

Online FOIA Letter Generator

A colleague from the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association recently pointed out that there is an online freedom of information request letter generator. The requests that the site produces are rough around the edges, but in many cases letters from the webpage will get the job done. Here’s the link for the FOIA Letter Generator.

Freedom of Information Law / Freedom of Information Law Tips — No Comments
26
Feb 09

How much does a Freedom of Information request cost in Connecticut?

A common question about Freedom of Information requests is, “How much will it cost?”

The real costs for a public agency to respond to a FOI request can be quite large. There are the obvious costs for paper, photocopies, and possibly CDs or DVDs, but the most significant cost is almost always the cost of employees’ time — both the amount they are getting paid and the opportunity cost of their lost efforts on other government business.

Another hidden costs is the cost of compliance with the law, which includes training about the law, making sure employees and officials follow that training, and the legal costs when a Freedom of Information complaint is filed.

But that isn’t the answer that most people are looking for when they ask, “How much will it cost?” They want to know how much can be charged for the records that are requested.

The answer is in Connecticut General Statutes § 1-212. What does Section 1-212 say? Generally, these are the maximum charges.

State agencies can charge up to 25¢ per page for photocopies.
All other agencies, including cities and towns, can charge up to 25¢ per page for photocopies.
For certified copies, agencies can charge $1.00 for the first page and 50¢ for each additional page.
For records that must be provided in another form, including most electronic records, an agency can charge up to the cost of providing a copy. That cost is limited to the cost of the media on which the copies are provided, the equivalent of the hourly salary for the time that employees spent providing the copies, the cost of any outside services needed to provide the copies, and external computer charge times, if applicable.

Of course, there are exceptions, so if you are unsure how much should be charged for a Freedom of Information request, you should consult with an attorney who has experience with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.

Connecticut FOI Law Blogby Attorney Mark Dumas