Chautauqua County law office requests paralegal funding as FOIL workload tops 600

Chautauqua County's Law Department asked the Administrative Services Committee on Tuesday to amend its 2026 budget to add a paralegal position, citing a surge in Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests and staffing disruptions that have left attorneys stretched thin. Emily Woodard, speaking for the department, said the office is handling "over 600" FOIL requests this year and that one attorney is spending "three or four full days of work" just responding to FOILs.

Woodard told the committee that the office reorganizations planned under a prior county attorney did not occur, leaving mismatches in titles and staffing. She described a staffing crunch in the juvenile prosecutions division and said the loss of one clerical FTE required moving staff from corporate counsel tasks to cover court-related duties. That shift increased the workload across the department and slowed routine legal work, she said.

The department also pointed to more complex contracts and grant-funded projects that include flow-down provisions, which require careful review. "We're seeing more complicated funding structures in our contracts," Woodard said, and that complexity, together with staff absences and expected departures, has increased demands on the office.

Woodard explained FOIL timelines and how the increase strains capacity: "We have 5 days to acknowledge a FOIL request and then 20 days to completely respond to the FOIL request." She also told the committee she has observed people filing requests repeatedly — in some cases using automated tools — and that some requesters appear to be using the information for profit. "We are over 600," she said of the year's FOIL caseload.

Sam Zoto, deputy director of finance, and Woodard said the department considered outside counsel and other cost-saving steps, but concluded that adding a civil-service paralegal would be a more cost-effective interim solution than hiring an additional attorney. The committee discussed budget impacts and the limits of what the paralegal would accomplish; members said the position would not be the department's long-term fix but would help stabilize operations until broader changes are possible.

The committee approved the proposed amendment to the 2026 budget for the County Law Department by voice vote. The resolution was presented as a budget amendment to fund the new civil-service paralegal position; the motion was carried without a recorded roll-call tally.

The request will be reflected in the county's 2026 budget adjustments and may be revisited during the upcoming budget season if needs persist.