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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Purpose

Act No. 442 of the Public Acts of 1976, as amended, commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), requires that the Charter Township of Chesterfield make available its public records. There are some legal exceptions allowed within this act.

The Charter Township of Chesterfield is authorized to charge a fee for providing a copy of a public record and a fee for searching, reviewing, monitoring examination, duplicating, separating, and deleting exempt from non-exempt public records, subject to certain limitations and restrictions.

The Charter Township of Chesterfield is required, by the provisions of the FOIA, to establish procedures and guidelines to implement adherence to and expedite compliance to FOIA.

Section 6 of the FOIA as amended March 31, 1997, states that the public body shall designate an individual as the public body’s FOIA Coordinator, who shall be responsible for accepting, coordinating and processing requests for the public body’s public records. Effective January 19, 1999, the Charter Township of Chesterfield Board of Trustees designated the Deputy Clerk as the FOIA Coordinator for the Charter Township of Chesterfield.

Fees

Under the provisions of the FOIA, there is a schedule of costs to be charged for mailing, photocopying, duplicating, and searching public records for the purpose of complying with requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. A schedule of costs is filed in the Office of the Township Clerk and is available to the public.

The costs to be charged shall not exceed the following items:

• Actual mailing expenses
• Actual duplication expenses
• Actual labor expenses connected with duplication, searching, examination, and review of public records, which labor costs shall not be charged at a rate in excess of the hourly wage of the lowest paid public body employee in the department where the records are located, and of which is capable of retrieving the information necessary to comply with a request under this act.

A fee shall not be charged for the cost of search, examination, review, and the deletion and separation of exempt from non-exempt information as provided by the FOIA, unless failure to charge a fee would result in unreasonably high costs to the Township because of the nature of the request in the particular instance. The Township shall specifically identify the nature of these unreasonably high costs. The fee for separating exempt from non-exempt material, if necessary to be charged, shall be limited to the incremental hourly salary expense of the lowest paid public body employee capable of doing the work.

Schedule of Fees

Labor Fees Per Department

In all instances, payment must be received before searching and/or reviewing begins if a deposit is required. Payment in full is due prior to releasing any duplicated material.

A search for a public record may be conducted or copies of public records may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge if the public body determines that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because searching for or furnishing copies of the public record can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public.

A copy of a public record shall be furnished without cost for the first $20.00 of the fee for each request to an individual who submits an affidavit stating that they are receiving public assistance, and are unable to pay the cost because of indigence.

Policy

Requesting information rather than document/Unable to identify the document requestor is seeking:

Often times individuals will simply request information rather than a document, or their request will be vague, confusing, or not descriptive of any type of a document that the Township maintains. The FOIA does not require the Township to compile a summary of documents and does not require the Township to create a document it does not currently have in its files. It does require that the Township provide documents maintained by the Township, to the extent an exemption does not exist, which would answer the request for information. In the Township’s search, the Township must be reasonable and utilize common sense, however, the Township is not required to guess or assume. If the individual has provided a phone number, a phone call to the individual to clarify the request and a confirming letter setting forth the contents of your discussion with the requestor will occur.

Document does not exist:

Any time an individual requests a document that does not exist, the FOIA requires the Township to certify that such a document does not exist (MCL 15.235(4) (b)).

Denial/Appeal Rights:

As a result of the denial of all, or part, of your written request, you may do either, or both, of the following:

1. Submit to the Chesterfield Township Board of Trustees, a written appeal that specifically states the word "appeal" and identifies the reason or reasons for requesting reversal of the denial by the FOIA Coordinator.
2.  Seek judicial review of the denial in the Macomb County Circuit Court to compel the Township’s disclosure of the public records within 180 days after the Township’s final decision to deny the request. If, after judicial review, the Circuit Court determines Chesterfield Township has not complied with the Freedom of Information Act and orders disclosure of all or a portion of the public records, the Court will award reasonable attorney fees, costs and disbursements.

For additional information please contact the FOIA Coordinator at (586)949-0400 ext 5 during normal business hours.

Freedom of Information Request Form

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