Bay County's Response
Bay County will respond within five business days after the request is received. If needed, the County may issue a notice extending for up to ten additional business days the time it has to respond to the request. You may further extend the time for a response in writing.
The County will respond to your request in one of the following ways:
- Grant the request;
- Issue a written notice denying the request;
- Grant the request in part and issue a written notice denying in part the request;
- Issue a notice indicating that due to the nature of the request the County needs an additional 10 business days to respond; or
- Issue a written notice indicating that the public record requested is available at no charge on the County’s website.
If the request is granted or granted in part, the County will ask that payment be made for the allowable fees associated with responding to the request before the public record is made available.
If the cost of processing the request is expected to exceed $50, or if you have not paid for a previously granted request, the County may require a deposit before processing the request.
Potential Exemptions
The FOIA statute contains several permitted exemptions. The FOIA is intended to be a pro-disclosure statute; therefore exemptions are narrowly interpreted to permit disclosure, where possible. If a requested document contains material that is exempt and other material that is nonexempt, the County may disclose the nonexempt material and delete the exempt material. Please review the FOIA statute to determine if the public records you are seeking are exempt from disclosure.
Cost Reimbursement
Bay County may require you to reimburse the expenses associated with the processing of your request for public records. You will receive a Cost Itemization Form with the total cost for processing your request. Your balance must be paid before records may be picked up, emailed or mailed.
If the cost of processing the request is expected to exceed $50, the County may require a deposit not to exceed ½ of the total fee before processing the request. Labor, photocopying, postage, and shipping costs will be charged at actuals and in accordance with FOIA.
FOIA provides for a waiver of the first $20.00 of the fee if the requester submits an affidavit stating he or she is indigent and receiving public assistance, or if not receiving public assistance, stating facts showing an inability to pay the cost due to indigence. A requester is not eligible for this waiver if (1) the individual has previously received discounted copies of public records from Bay County twice during the same calendar year or (2) the individual requests the information in conjunction with outside parties who are offering or providing payment or other remuneration to the individual to make the request. MCL 15.234
Please click here to download the Affidavit of Indigency form.