Editor:
Some of you may recall my previous letter about our sidewalks. Public pressure on the Village Council has been essential for progress in holding Wightman and Balkema accountable. Despite following official channels and seeking help from elected officials, I find myself once again calling them out publicly. Why do I persist? Because accountability is only possible when information is accessible, and my experience shows that the harder it is to get information, the more likely people are to give up.
What began as a simple request for public information about our fire department has become a major ordeal. My question now is: Does anyone in authority here truly know what they’re doing?
Buckle up, it’s going to be another long read.
To start, I want to do a quick FOIA 101 for those of you who don’t know: FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act. Michigan’s FOIA law states that “All persons, except those incarcerated are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and public employees”
A nongovernmental public body “Any other body which is created by state or local authority or which is primarily funded by or through state or local authority”
“labor costs incurred in duplication, mailing, separation of material, etc are to be calculated at no more than ‘the hourly wage of its lowest paid employee capable of searching for, locating and examining the public records.” Additionally, a fee shall not be charged for the cost of search, examination, review and deletion and separation unless a failure to charge a fee would result in unreasonably high costs to the public body and the public body specifically identifies the nature of the unreasonably high costs.”
“The public body determines that a waiver or reduction of fees is in the public interest because searching for or furnishing copies of the public record can be considered primarily benefiting the general public.”
I know it’s a lot of legal mumbo jumbo but it’s important to have the basics as I go through this.
Back on July 21st I submitted a FOIA request to the Marcellus Fire Chief. The request was for:
1. A roster of all active Fire and EMS personnel
2. Current qualifications/training held by active personnel
3. Event records for the last 24 months of calls received
4. Records from the last 24 months of deployed vs non-deployed calls
I received what was requested but was denied access to dispatch logs due to HIPAA concerns. On July 30th, I requested the dispatch logs with HIPAA information redacted, which would comply with regulations. The Cass County Sheriff’s Department provided these records, so the Fire Chief should be able to do the same. Nearly four months later, I still have not received these records from the Fire Chief
MAESA (Marcellus Area Emergency Services Association) governs the Fire Department and EMS, created by agreement between the Village of Marcellus and Marcellus Township. MAESA has full authority to manage emergency services, appoint a fire chief, and set department rules. It is funded by tax allocations from both the Village and Township, meaning local tax dollars support MAESA and emergency services. My husband Joe is a member of the board.
Early August: Joe requested the dispatch records, vehicle maintenance records, as well as the financial files from the Marcellus Firefighters fund to the Fire Chief. He was not contacted regarding this request.
September 8th, Joe requested the records at the public MAESA board meeting and was told by the board president that she would not be able to help with the request. September 9th, Joe requested help from the VoM council president. As an appointed member of the MAESA board, Joe has a right to ask for and be given any information pertaining to the operations of the Fire and EMS services.
On September 17th, Joe was provided maintenance records and that was it.
From September 17th-October 13th Joe received calls from multiple people. MAESA board president, Township Supervisor, MAESA board member and MAESA treasurer all inquiring about what documents he requested, replying that they could not provide certain documents due to HIPPA laws, and that the township lawyer would have to review.
On October 13th, Joe read a statement to the MAESA board and again on October 14th at the Village Council meeting, the statement contained the inconsistencies we have found and noted that the FOIA request has not been honored.
From September 17th-October 13th Joe received calls from multiple people. MAESA board president, Township Supervisor, MAESA board member and MAESA treasurer all inquiring about what documents he requested, replying that they could not provide certain documents due to HIPPA laws, and that the township lawyer would have to review.
On October 13th, Joe read a statement to the MAESA board and again on October 14th at the Village Council meeting, the statement contained the inconsistencies we have found and noted that the FOIA request has not been honored.
October 21st, I emailed the Fire Chief, Village President, and Township Supervisor letting them know my original FOIA was not honored after 3 months and reiterated what our request entailed. I received a response from the Township Supervisor that stated he was not aware of a previous FOIA request. It would seem to me that the MAESA board president who is an appointed member by the Township would have conveyed this information to him. In the same email, I was informed that on Oct 20th, the Township Supervisor, Village President, a Village Council Member, a MAESA board member and the MAESA president all met in person. The result of that meeting was that I would need to submit another FOIA request but to Marcellus Township this time.
I submitted my FOIA request to the Township on October 27th and on November 6th, I received a reply with communications logs (From central dispatch) monthly payments into the Fire Fighters Fund and a bill for $433.20 for labor to research and locate who went on each call. 21 hours of labor at $20.00 an hour.
So now that you know the basics to FOIA laws and the timeline, I ask you this. Why is it so hard to get public information that should be readily available? Why is it that when I go to our elected officials, I have yet again been stonewalled?
Records of what calls the Fire Department and EMS went on as well as who was dispatched to those calls should be readily available, not take 21 hours of labor to locate. The man hours billed per month by the Fire Department/EMS are paid into the Firefighters Fund, to the tune of almost $18,000 in the last two years. Where that money is being spent should be readily available to the public. It is our taxes paying that fund after all.
Did you know that the current Fire Chief’s wife is a “volunteer” Fire Department employee? Did you know that in 2011 the Fire Chief’s wife embezzled $17,000 from the Fire Department? That’s old news, but did you know that she has still owes about half.
I don’t know about you, but I wonder where that $17,000 that was stolen went. I wonder if it went to pay bills or vacations. I wonder how a married couple working at the same department, living in the same house can’t both know where an additional $17,000 in a year came from. I wonder why this violation of ethics does not seem to be a concern to any of our elected or appointed officials except my husband Joe Watts. To sum it up, “something seems amiss.” As the Fire Chief said to me in an email upon my first request, “What are you looking for? In my last 25 years, when people ask for this type of information, they are looking to start problems.”
No, I’m not looking to start problems. I’m looking to fix problems. I can’t do it alone. Joe and I make a great team, but we need your help. You want things to get better. Start asking questions. Start speaking out at meetings. Start putting your own FOIA requests in, I’m happy to help. I want to see Marcellus thrive, in order to do that, we have to start making some uncomfortable changes.
Sincerely,
Erica Watts
Marcellus, MI
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