Councilman's FOIA Request Denied; Draws Ire of DeveloperCouncilman's FOIA Request Denied; Draws Ire of Developer

8/26/14 - Debate over changes to the City of Howell’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) policy and what one member felt were burdensome fees led to some lively discussion during Monday night’s council meeting. Council voted to end a contract for building services from Livingston County in April, citing an uptick in activity. However Councilman Doug Heins (pictured) said he was made aware of additional information going on behind the scenes after the vote and alleged the real reason was “in fact driven by change in building use and code interpretation conflict between the County Building Department and a remodeling project within the city” –revealed to be the Heart of Howell. Heins later filed a FOIA request seeking email communications on the topic. After being charged per city policy, Heins proposed a resolution to lower the costs, claiming he was charged excessive fees which stand in the way of transparency. It did not pass. Heins said while he found nothing amiss relative to the project, his issue was whether a sitting council member should be charged the most money in the City’s history for a FOIA request – $179 - an amount that was later reduced. His comments led Heart of Howell developer Joe Parker to request Heins share the name of the commissioner. Heins responded that it was not germane to the motion, but Parker countered that it was to the public. However, Heins remained silent. City Manager Shea Charles said the data could have been obtained at no charge had Heins made a staff inquiry. However, if an individual chooses to use the FOIA act to gain or solicit information, then Charles says they follow policy and its irrelevant who filed the request. He commented further that calling or emailing to ask for additional documentation is reasonable but a FOIA request for data is a different avenue entirely that sends up personal red flags when coming from a sitting council member. While Councilman Al Schlittler said he didn’t feel Heins was going after the project or Charles and the request had been worded carefully, the majority of council members stated they had no issues obtaining information and some said they felt Heins was clearly inferring he didn’t trust the manager. (JM/JK)