[Update: November 2015. Our latest brief FOIA request was handled free of charge. Thank you, Mr. Fink]
Since his arrival in Northfield Township, Manager Howard Fink has maintained open books and free access to all Township documents. This was, Howard said, a matter of personal ethos. The FOIA requests that revealed both the parties to and the extent of the attempt to subvert our Master Plan were actually handled free of charge by Fink and his staff.
That was then; this is now. At the June 9, 2015, Township Board meeting, Howard Fink asked the Board to approve a replacement for this policy of Township Transparency. Township Attorney Bradford Maynes drew up a 32 page thicket of rules, regulations, forms, fee structures, payment schedules, and deposit requirements outlining Fink's "new & improved" Township FOIA Policy.
Does anybody else remember Trustee Otto proudly defending Township Transparency? Government transparency was the platform she got elected on. She was elected largely as a reaction to the backroom dealing and non-stop in-fighting of the preceding Township Board.
Otto's star shone brightest in those early days, when Janet Chick and Otto voted with Kathy Braun, Michelle Manning, and other Trustees to deny newly annointed Manager Howard Fink's recommendation to turn off Township Video cameras during Board Workshops. Policy, he called it. Just Policy.
Here's the video clip of the June 9th FOIA policy vote. It's five minutes long.