Ludington to hire attorney to handle FOIA requests

LUDINGTON — The Ludington City Council will consider hiring a private attorney to handle the high volume of Freedom of Information Act requests it receives. The vast majority of the requests, over 200 in recent years, have come from city resident Tom Rotta.

The city is expected to appoint Susan Sniegowski as the city’s FOIA coordinator, effective Oct. 1. Sniegowski owns a private practice in Ludington and is former county prosecutor. She will respond to all FOIA requests at a rate of $125 per hour. Currently City Manager John Shay acts as FOIA coordinator.

Rotta began making FOIA requests with the city, and other area government bodies, after he was ticketed for not stopping at a stop sign while riding his bicycle. Since that time, his requests have cost local governments thousands of dollars, especially the City of Ludington, which recently settled a law suit for $15,000, in order to avoid the high cost of litigation.