banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner

Local News

Barry County Drain Commission limits its response to public's questions

At Tuesday’s Barry County Commission meeting, Drain Commissioner Jim Dull announced changes in the way the department will respond to questions from the public in the future.

 

He said questioners can file a Freedom of Information Act request for specific information and they will get an estimate of the cost for the documents. Or, they can pay engineer Brian Cenci or attorney Doug Kelly’s regular fees to talk to them.

However, his department will set up a webpage on the county website for frequently asked questions on drain projects,

 

“Because we’re at a point where because of legalities any questions we’re taking in, we have to answer them very specifically after that suit that we were filed against, so anything we do now is going through the attorney and engineers so we’re not going to answer any more public comments or questions.

 

“They have the choice of doing a FOIA request, we will give them a cost estimate and they will pay for this information or Doug Kelly and Brian Cenci have both agreed if some residents have questions, and they are willing to pay Doug and Brian’s hourly wage, they will drive down here and meet with them at their convenience.

 

“It’s not fiscally responsible for us to be answering public questions on district monies and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing and it’s gonna stop right here.

 

“So, if anyone has any other questions, either FOIA them or contact the commissioners to send them on. We don’t have a problem talking to commissioners because they weed out 90 percent of them.”

 

Dull also reported that in conjunction with MDOT and the EGLE, they are pumping water off M-43 into Cloverdale Lake and from there into Long Lake.

 

“Our pumps are set at 800 gallon a minute of M-43 and 900 gallons a minute out of Cloverdale Lake so we don’t add any problems to the people in Cloverdale Lake,” he said.

Also, he explained why the Crooked Lake project is a drain district project instead of a special assessment lake project. Lake levels are set by the courts and they are directed by them; drains are directed by petitions and they got a drain petition; not a lake level petition. “We have to follow the statuary obligations of the office,” he said.

 

Basic information on FOIA requests:

Written and e-mail FOIA requests go to the organization’s FOIA administrator. The request should be very specific to the information sought.

A

government agency must answer the request within five business days, they may deny it, or ask for an additional 10 days to respond. Not answering is considered a denial and appealed as such.

 

Updated law limits the fee to 10 cents a page, with higher rates allowed on some records items like birth and death certificates, deeds and land records.

 

Employee labor fees, supposed to be the exception rather than the rule, should be set by the lowest paid employee who can do the work; for example a clerk in a law office should copy a paper instead of the lawyer.

 

A good faith deposit, generally 50 percent of the bill, may be asked. If a request is denied, the seeker can ask a judge to force the organization to hand over the public record requested.

For details on FOIA, visit

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/FOIA_Pamphlet_380084_7.pdf

 

 

 

 

Listen Live

DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP

FOR YOUR PHONE OR TABLET!

     

Weather

On Air Now

Chad Henry & Dave McIntyre
Chad Henry & Dave McIntyre
6:00am - 10:00am
Morning Show