Marion approves FOIA coordinator position and buys software to handle rising records requests

Marion city leaders voted to create a legal and FOIA coordinator position and to purchase a suite of software tools designed to streamline licensing, FOIA (referred to in the meeting as FOYA) tracking and document management.

Mayor Abshire and staff said the measure responds to an extraordinary volume of FOIA requests, particularly for police body‑camera video that must be reviewed and redacted in compliance with Illinois law. City Attorney Wendy explained the workload: redaction requirements and exemptions—especially for juvenile records—mean staff must watch and review multiple officer videos and redact faces and bystanders before release. She said the city has seen requests that require dozens of hours of staff time; the police records coordinator spent 40 hours on a single request, Chief Fitz said.

Staff recommended contracting with MCCI for licensing software, FOIA/foyer tracking and maintaining the city's Laserfiche repository to centralize documents, allow online business licensing renewals and track FOIA progress. Cody said the licensing portal will allow users to upload materials and pay fees online and that moving hotel‑tax collections into the system could reduce annual collection fees (staff estimate indicated current collection contractor fees exceed $30,000 per year and MCCI could lower that cost in later years).

Council also approved creating a paralegal‑level legal and FOIA coordinator position to handle routine FOIA processing and relieve Wendy's and records staff's workload. Wendy and Chief Fitz described the statewide scale of the issue and noted pending legislative efforts that may change definitions and request requirements.

Why it matters: The combination of software and a dedicated staff position is intended to reduce manual work, ensure timely statutory compliance with FOIA deadlines and centralize records so the city can respond more efficiently to requests. The city will monitor whether the investment reduces outside collection fees and improves response times.