Marion County is looking to develop a process and a policy for responding to freedom of information requests from the public.
Marion County Attorney Ed Bull says that recent requests have proven to be time consuming, and costly. Bull stresses that the county wants to be transparent and timely in responses, but recent requests have proven to be a burden. If, for example, a citizen requests all emails from county employees related to one topic, 150 computers need to be searched, and it is quite possible that an independent contractor would have to be retained. Current charges for such specialized services cost $175 an hour.