Flock Exposed - Board Rules and Agenda Authority Request
Why This Request Matters
If you want your town to reconsider its surveillance contract, someone has to put that item on a meeting agenda. Many towns will tell you that takes a certain number of board members, or that only the mayor or president can do it. Ask where that rule is written down. Very often there is no written rule at all, just a practice nobody has ever questioned.
The same is true of grievances. Public comment is not a grievance procedure. Three minutes at a microphone with no obligation for anyone to answer you is not the same as a process that produces a decision you can appeal. This request asks your town to produce the written rules, or to admit in writing that none exist.
Either answer is useful to you. A written rule tells you exactly what to do next. No written rule tells you the board has been operating on custom, and that is something you can raise in an open meeting.
How To Use This Template
Fill in every item shown in brackets with your own information, then delete the brackets. Insert the name of your own state's public records law where indicated.
Substitute the right words for your town. Some places have a board of trustees and a village president, others a city council and a mayor, others a county commission. Use whatever your town calls them throughout.
Keep the scope honest. You are not asking for the entire municipal code, which they may already publish online. You are asking for the governance rules, the agenda rules, and the grievance procedure. Saying so plainly in the request makes it much harder to refuse as burdensome.
If someone at your town has already been helpful, say so. If a clerk provided records voluntarily, thank them in the opening line. You want the office on your side.
The FOIA Request
[Date]
[Name of Clerk or Records Officer]
[Name of Town, City, or County]
[Street Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
Re: Public Records Request - Board Rules, Agenda-Setting Authority, and Citizen Grievance Procedure
Dear [Clerk or Records Officer]:
[Optional opening if applicable: Thank you for providing [describe what they gave you] without requiring a formal request. I appreciate the courtesy.]
Under [Name of Your State] public records law, I request copies of the following records in the possession, custody, or control of [Name of Town].
1. All rules of procedure, bylaws, standing rules, or rules of order adopted by the [Board or Council] governing the conduct of its own meetings, in their current form.
2. Any ordinance, resolution, or written policy establishing who may place an item on a [Board or Council] meeting agenda, and what is required to do so.
3. If the [Board or Council] applies a rule requiring a specific number of members, or the approval of the [Mayor, President, or Chair], to add an item to an agenda, the written source of that rule, identified by ordinance number, resolution number, section, page, or meeting date of adoption.
4. If no such written rule exists, a written statement to that effect.
5. All rules, policies, or procedures describing how a resident may file a grievance, complaint, or formal request for action with the [Board or Council], and how that grievance is answered or decided.
6. All rules or policies distinguishing the public comment period from any formal grievance or petition process, including whether a resident is entitled to a response on the record.
7. All records identifying any local avenue of appeal or review available to a resident who is dissatisfied with a [Board or Council] decision, or a written statement that no local avenue exists.
8. All records showing the date on which the rules described above were adopted or last amended, including the meeting minutes reflecting that adoption.
9. Any written policy governing what is recorded in the meeting minutes when a resident speaks during public comment, including whether the substance of a question is entered into the record.
10. Any adopted parliamentary authority the [Board or Council] follows, such as a named edition of a manual of parliamentary procedure, and the record of its adoption.
To be clear about the scope of this request: I am not requesting the entire municipal code or ordinance book. I am requesting only those records concerning [Board or Council] governance, agenda placement, and the citizen grievance procedure.
Please provide these records in electronic format, by email to [Your Email Address], if they exist in electronic form. If any record is withheld in whole or in part, please identify the record and cite the specific exemption you are relying on.
If you anticipate fees, please notify me before any costs are incurred. If a fee waiver is available under [Name of Your State] law because this request is in the public interest and not for commercial purposes, I request one.
If any item above is unclear, please contact me so we can discuss it rather than denying the request.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
_______________________________
[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]
[Your Street Address]
[Your City, State, ZIP]
[Your Phone Number]
[Your Email Address]
Acknowledgment Of Receipt
To be completed by the receiving agency. Requester and agency each retain a copy.
Received by: _______________________________
Printed Name and Title: _______________________________
Date and Time Received: _______________________________