FOIA Coordinator

RATE:   Minimum Salary: $57,488

**Position will typically hire at minimum pay and follow a step progression to maximum**

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE WORK: 

This position involves receiving and responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), subpoena,

and discovery requests for police department records. The primary responsibility involves

compiling, analyzing, redacting, and disseminating police department records in accordance with

state and federal laws and local procedures.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: (Must be able to perform either with or without reasonable accommodation)

• Receive, review, and respond to requests for police records including calculating applicable fees and documenting activity in records request management software.
• Serve as work lead to part-time staff including coordinating work flow and developing training.
• Search for, retrieve, and compile requested records while coordinating closely with staff to ensure results are accurate, complete, and timely.
• Independently analyze and evaluate records to determine if exemptions preventing disclosure apply.  Identify and annotate specific exemptions that apply.
• Utilize specialized software to apply redactions and prepare fulfilled requests involving various media types including, but not limited to, documents, in-car cameras, body-worn cameras, dispatch recordings, surveillance videos, and photographs, while maintaining the integrity of the original records.
• Communicate with supervision regarding requests involving ongoing investigations, media releases, high-profile cases, and other sensitive records.
• Maintain sufficient knowledge of policies and laws that impact the processing of public records requests.
• Perform file maintenance functions to ensure compliance with retention schedules.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent organizational and time management skills to complete multiple assigned tasks within specified deadlines.
• Excellent written communication and grammatical skills in order to prepare professional correspondence.
• Develop advanced knowledge of Michigan Freedom of Information Act and other state and federal laws concerning privacy, records and information release.
• Ability to apply knowledge to analyze records and evaluate what records or portions of records may be released or denied and arrive at defensible conclusions.
• Must be able to maintain strict confidentiality including protecting records that are exempt from disclosure.
• Ability to learn specialized software applications involving records management and media redaction.
• Ability to maintain focus performing sedentary work for extended periods of time including while viewing sensitive or disturbing material.
• Follow department procedures involving the handling of police records and channels of communication while processing requests for information.
• Interact with requestors, attorneys and other employees in a consistently courteous manner regarding requests for records.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Satisfactory completion of a CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) fingerprint-based background check, and a drug screen that tests for illegal drugs as defined by the Federal Drug Workplace Act but not those legalized under Michigan law.

EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:

Graduation from an accredited high school or G.E.D. equivalent. 

A minimum of one-year experience in case processing, police records management, or comparable experience.