Comments on: FOIA Update: Printed vs. Electronic Records

By: Peter Zetlin

Peter Zetlin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:46:52 +0000

Congratulations to the Chronicle for a first rate job of reporting. Even if you believe this particular controversy is overblown, FOIA is important because it enhances government accountability. Dave’s clear, well researched piece documents how this process works. If you’re interested in government, this is a good piece to read.

By: Steve Bean

Steve Bean — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:45:15 +0000

From #10: “They do know more about the issues that are being raised and the parties involved because it is their job to know that.”

I agree. I believe that I and others, certainly including council members, do know more–let’s change that to being more informed–than most about the issues we address. And when we lack humility in our deliberations it can be seen by others as lacking integrity–i.e., “dishonest, incompetent”, etc.

Knowing more is not the same as knowing enough. (And, of course, this is pretending that we can actually “know” anything, hence the above substitution of “informed” for “know”.)

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:00:55 +0000

As Ms. Margolis alludes to, I suspect that FOIA also has an underlying goal of protecting privacy and the money of the entity’s taxpayers, particularly against frivolous FOIA requests. My guess is that many local governments and school districts regularly have to deal with harassing FOIA requests that would be never-ending if it were not for FOIA’s guidelines. Those with political motives would find FOIA otherwise particularly helpful to benefit their own cause.

By: a2eastsider

a2eastsider — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:35:59 +0000

re. #11 – I’m also glad The Chronicle is checking out how the things gets done in Ann Arbor. They seem to care about getting the story right rather than getting the right story.

By: Liz Margolis

Liz Margolis — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:29:31 +0000

I am the FOIA officer for the Ann Arbor Public Schools. It has been an interesting journey for the past 6 years to wade through the many FOIA requests that come into the district. I am not at all opposed to FOIA requests and frequently find them very useful to communicate information that is not normally releasable to the public without this. I too find The Chronicle’s study of what happened in the city very interesting as far as process and flow and not the content which I personally think has been blown way out of proportion. As someone who sits through long board meetings it is hard sometimes to resist the urge to email about various topics but resist you must! Lesson learned!

What I do have issue with is the FOIA request that feels like it is issued to create work and hardship for the organization when a simple discussion can usually prove fruitful. While FOIA law does not allow for the creation of any requested document the advent of email as the main communication tool can take hours and hours of staff time to fulfill the request.At the Ann Arbor Public Schools we waive the first $20 of costs for both time and copies for the request. While I perform the work we charge the lowest hourly rate of any district full-tiime employee ($9.27/hour) and .10cents per page. It takes a lot to go beyond the $20 waiver but believe me we sometimes produce boxes and boxes for these requests (thank you AA News!!).

FOIA is an important tool when used properly to keep the needed checks and balances on publicly funded organizations.

By: Matt Hampel

Matt Hampel — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:55:49 +0000

In re. # 10 — that’s not at all what I’m assuming. I’m glad the Chronicle is testing my assumptions by looking at the record, not just repeating hearsay.

By: a2eastsider

a2eastsider — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:14:45 +0000

It is disheartening to hear how many people automatically assume that elected officials are dishonest, incompetent liars who spend their time gleefully conspiring behind closed doors to “get” people. That kind of behavior really is rare though is always exploited because people love a great conspiracy theory more the mundane reality of slogging through business. The majority of people who serve are concerned citizens who are trying to do what they believe is the best thing for the people they represent. They do know more about the issues that are being raised and the parties involved because it is their job to know that. They spend a great deal of time reading meeting packets and notes and answering email from their constituents. They also get to hear from a wide range of people at meetings; some of whom show up prepared and on topic with well thought out statements, questions, and concerns and others who definitely do not.

It looks like the Chronicle is more interested in finding out how things flow in the decision making process than they are in witch hunting and name calling, which is good. We have plenty of sources for sensationalist non-news.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:14:05 +0000

re: #6, I think he means the documents need to be UNeditable.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:46:30 +0000

I believe the $380 was money well spent and made a small donation to The Chronicle to help defray the cost. If you disagree, perhaps you’d like to make a donation to the campaign of the councilperson you think will be harmed most by these documents. And good luck with that, I say.

By: Brad Thompson

Brad Thompson — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:45:50 +0000

The heavy lifting done by journalists is rarely recognized. To properly do the job it requires an amazing amount of time and tedium to drill down to the information you’re trying to find.

Good work. I have no doubt that the AA News wouldn’t expend the effort, but this absolutely has to be done. Unfortunately many people do not understand how important an independent, inquisitive fourth estate is to a strong functioning democracy.