FOIA - Public Records Request

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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests


The City of Battle Creek is a public body required by law to provide existing, non-exempt public records to persons upon written request. The City of Battle Creek's Freedom of Information Act policy, as approved by the Commission on June 16, 2015, is to respond to requests in a consistent, fair and even-handed manner. Some records are exempt from public disclosure by the Michigan Freedom of Information Act or other statutes. Also, the City of Battle Creek may charge fees to fulfill FOIA requests in accordance with state law.

Submit a Request

 All FOIA requests must be submitted in writing. For your convenience, your request can be submitted by filling out our FOIA Request Form. 
*Please Note - A confirmation page will pop-up once your request has been submitted.  You must allow pop-ups for this site to be able to view the confirmation page.    
                              
Click here to submit your request

You may also submit your request in person, by email, fax or mail via the following:
 Mail or in person: 
City of Battle Creek Clerk's Office
10 N Division Street
Room 111
Battle Creek, MI 49014

Fax: 269-966-3555

Email: cityclerk@battlecreekmi.gov
All requests for public record must include:
  • Requesting person's complete name
  • Requesting person's address
  • Requesting person's valid telephone number or electronic mail address
  • Complete description of the records or information sought with enough detail for our office to locate the records
NOTE: if the FOIA request is made by a person other than an individual, the complete name, address, and contact information of the person's agent who is an individual must be included with the request

Your request will not be accepted without this information!
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*All requests for Accident Reports less than 30 days old must also include a completed Accident Report Statement (PDF) form.


FOIA Response


The FOIA statue allows the City five (5) working days to respond to a FOIA request (if a request for a public record is received by facsimile or e-mail, the request is deemed to have been received on the following business day).  An extension of an additional ten (10) days is allowed under the statute, including if the request requires the City to search for, collect, examine, or review a voluminous amount of separate and distinct public records, or to collect the public records from numerous offices or facilities located apart from this office. Please note that not all documents are freely available under the FOIA statute; certain documents are not available to the public. Once a request is processed and ready to be released the Clerk's Office will notify the requester in writing.

Costs of FOIA Responses


Consistent with FOIA Procedures & Guidelines you will be assessed a fee for the City to process your request; you must pay for the costs of finding, processing, copying and mailing the requested material. The costs of locating and reproducing documents will vary depending on the type and number of documents requested.  If the charge is expected to exceed $50.00, the City will notify you by letter before proceeding to fill your request.  Charges for time spent on FOIA responses are based on the pay rate of the lowest paid employee capable of doing the work and/or the established fee for enhanced access to a public record or for access to any proposed Geographical Information System or the output from a Geographical Information System.
                                                                                                                                  

Forms

and Important Information
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