{"id":4880,"date":"2022-03-16T15:33:14","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T15:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMibmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnJlZ2lzdGVyY2l0aXplbi5jb20vbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlL0JyaWRnZXBvcnQtaW51bmRhdGVkLXdpdGgtRk9JQS1yZXF1ZXN0cy0xNzAwNjI1My5waHA_dD0xOGFkY2FhMjRk0gEA"},"modified":"2022-03-16T15:33:14","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T15:33:14","slug":"bridgeport-inundated-with-foia-requests-faces-possible-fines-for-delays-torrington-register-citizen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=4880","title":{"rendered":"Bridgeport \u201cinundated\u201d with FOIA requests, faces possible fines for delays – Torrington Register Citizen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BRIDGEPORT \u2014 Overwhelmed by Freedom of Information Act requests for municipal documents and under pressure from the state watchdog agency that enforces those regulations to catch up, the law department wants to hire an additional staffer to help process inquiries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re inundated with them,\u201d City Attorney R. Christopher Meyer said in an interview this week. \u201cAnd they\u2019re not simple requests. They don\u2019t say, \u2018Give a one page report that exists.\u2019 They … require a lot of searching and a lot of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to Meyer, the projected number of FOIA submissions for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, is 2,167 \u2014 nearly four times the 544 requests in 2017. And 330 requests were submitted between Jan. 1 and March 1 alone, Meyer added.<\/p>\n

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It was 2017 when Mayor Joe Ganim\u2019s administration launched an online portal for the public to use, under the Connecticut FOIA, to try and obtain municipal records and other paperwork from City Hall and its various departments and agencies. Typically activists, private attorneys and members of the media employ the FOIA for research purposes, although anyone can file a request for information.<\/p>\n

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Meyer has had one employee focused full time on gathering up and responding to FOIA submissions. He is asking the City Council for permission to establish a new paralegal to help, paid for with unused funds from a vacant associate city attorney position.<\/p>\n

In a March 2 memorandum to the council, Meyer cited the backlog as a sign of the 2017 portal\u2019s success at making the city \u201cmore transparent and accommodating.\u201d But he also cautioned that recently the state Freedom of Information Commission, which rules on complaints about alleged FOIA violations, has warned Bridgeport \u201cmay face future fines because of untimely compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For example, according to the minutes of the Hartford-based commission\u2019s March 9 meeting<\/a>, that day its members in three cases involving Bridgeport took issue with how long the city took to hand over requested documents.<\/p>\n

One of those cases involved crime statistics from the police department. The commission noted nearly a year had passed and members were \u201cdisturbed by the unexplained lengthy delay\u201d in releasing that data.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe respondents are cautioned that similar unexplained delays in future cases may result in the consideration of the imposition of a civil penalty,\u201d stated the commission\u2019s March 9 decision.<\/p>\n

Meyer this week noted another issue is that municipal offices also need to work harder to help his office comply.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have trained approximately 40 liaisons from different departments around the city,\u201d Meyer said. \u201cWe\u2019re also trying to push on the department heads and department personnel to be more responsive to the requests we provide them (and) release the simpler ones.\u201d<\/p>\n