[nfbmi-talk] Fw: FOIA Requesting Salary of Melvin Farmer
joe harcz Comcast
joeharcz at comcast.net
Fri Apr 15 16:56:10 UTC 2011
----- Original Message -----
From: Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
To: 'joe harcz Comcast'
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 12:29 PM
Subject: FW: FOIA Requesting Salary of Melvin Farmer
Date: April 15, 2011
To: Mr. Joe Harcz
From: Melvin Farmer, Jr., Director Metro Authority/FOIA
Subject: FOIA Request for Salary of Melvin Farmer
This notice is in response to your April 15, 2011 email request (attached) for the salary of Melvin
Farmer. Pursuant to MCL 15.235, Section 5(2)(a) of the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),
your request has been granted. Mr. Melvin Farmer, Jr's annual salary is $111,000.00 for the
following responsibilities:
--Director of the Metro Authority, which, pursuant to the Metropolitan Extension
Telecommunications Rights-of-Way Oversight Act (P.A. 48 of 2002), is responsible
for recovering the costs of the state's 1,777 municipalities (cities, townships, villages)
public rights-of-way use by telecommunication providers; annually collecting from
telecom providers and disbursing over $22 million to eligible municipalities;
coordinating rights-of-way matters between municipalities and telecom providers;
assessing required maintenance fees; assisting with the implementation of broadband
internet initiatives that foster economic development throughout the state; etc.
--Central Freedom of Information Act Coordinator: Pursuant to MCL 15.236, Section 6(1) of the
FOIA, designated by the Director of the Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth
(DELEG) to be responsible for accepting; processing, approving; denying; establishing and
maintaining FOIA policies/procedures/ guidelines; and coordinating the processing of
responses and appeals regarding the some 44,000 to 46,000 requests, including subpoena's,
annually received by +26 agencies in the DELEG.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 10:40 AM
To: Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
Subject: Re: FOIA's Requesting Personnel Records of Mel Farmer and Pat Cannon
Say Melvin, Sir, how much do you make salary wise? That isn't a hard question for such a highly paid official is it? Or do you need to hit your calculater to figure this stuff out and to arbitrarily and capriciously send me some sort of bull?
sincerely,
Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
----- Original Message -----
From: Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
To: 'joe harcz Comcast'
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 10:11 AM
Subject: FW: FOIA's Requesting Personnel Records of Mel Farmer and Pat Cannon
April 15, 2011 Sent by U.S. Mail and e-mail
(joeharcz at comcast.net)
Mr. Paul Joseph Harcz
1365 Mt. Morris Rd.
Mt. Morris, MI 48458
RE: Freedom of Information Act Requests- Personnel Records
Dear Mr. Harcz:
This notice is in response to your March 27, 2011, March 31, 2011 and April 5, 2011 emails (attached) requesting copies of public records under the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq., you describe as the personnel files of Melvin Farmer, Jr., Patrick D. Cannon, and Ms. Jo Anne Pilarski in her capacity as a Michigan Commissioner for the Blind MCB) for the last decade. It is noted in your April 5, 2011 email that you no longer request the personnel file of Ms. Jo Anne Pilarski.
Please be informed that, pursuant to MCL 15.235, Section 5(2)(c) of the FOIA, your request has been partially granted and partially denied as indicated in the following notifications regarding your FOIA requests for copies of the personnel files and salary information for Melvin Farmer, Jr and Patrick D. Cannon:
--April 12, 2011 email from me to you granting your April 5, 2011 FOIA request for Melvin
Farmer, Jr's personnel file records and salary information upon payment of $287.74
estimated processing cost.
--April 14, 2011 email from me to you granting your March 27, 2011 FOIA request that
included the request for records/information related to Patrick D. Cannon's personnel
file records and salary information upon payment of $460.25 estimated processing
costs. NOTE: Other portions of your March 27, 2011 request have been addressed by
the April 14, 2011 response letter from the MCB.
Copies of my April 12, 2011, April 14, 2011, as well as, MCB's April 14, 2011 response notices will be attached to the mailed version of this response.
Sincerely,
Melvin Farmer, Jr
Central FOIA Coordinator
(517)373-0194
Attachments
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 9:18 AM
To: Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
Subject: Re: foia canon stuff and more
Mr. Farmer,
Say what about those draft meeting minutes of the last MCB meeting ? In your failure to remit them them to this very date (April 5, 2011) is a violation of the OMA, the FOIA, the Americans with disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (both Title I and Section 504) (and the very act that funds and creates MCB to begin with, by the way). But, here you all have hit the big bonanza in violating two state laws and two federal laws at the same time.
And not that you can copy and paste very well, but again I do not wish for Ms. Pilarski's personnel file as she does not work for the state of Michigan, but rather is the Chair of the Michigan Commission for the Blind.
If I wish for her personnel file I'll write to the School District which employs her. (Oh, in that regard wouldn't Bradlee v. Saranac Community Schools be most apt?)
But, again to reiterate I wish for your personnel file Mr. Melvin Farmer.
And while I'm at it I'm requesting here and now to know your salary and other annual compensation.
Sincerely,
Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2011 9:12 PM
To: Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
Subject: Re: foia canon stuff and more
Dear Mr. Farmer,
Again I am now requesting your personnel file along with that of Mr. Patrick D.Cannon and now that of Ms. Jo Anne Pilarski in her official capacity of the Michigan Commission for the Blind for the last decade and might I cite the following case:
From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 11:59 PM
To: Haynes, Carla (DELEG)
Cc: Jo Anne Pilarski MCB, Chair; Larry Posont; lydia schuck; John Scott MCB, Commissioner; Joe Sibley MCBVI Pres.; John L Wodatch USDOJ; Cannon, Patrick (DELEG); mcb2020-L at LISTSERV.MICHIGAN.GOV; TOM MASSEAU MPAS
Subject: foia canon stuff and more
FOIA Canon Information FOIA
March 27, 2011
Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.
Mt. Morris, MI 48458
Carla Haynes, Michigan commission for the Blind
FOIA
(via E-mail)
Dear Ms. Haynes,
I am writing you today to request via and pursuant to the rights and obligations of the Michigan Freedom of information Act and concurrent obligations under the Americans with disabilities Act and the rehabilitation act of 1973 the complete personnel file of Mr. Patrick D. Cannon, Director of the Michigan commission for the Blind(except for legally redacted information materials like social Security Number for example) , along with all salary and compensation for all State of Michigan activities and purposes of employment therein since he assumed office or directorship of MCB and any other State of Michigan employment considerations including his role as State of Michigan Americans with Disabilities act coordinator.
I am requesting specifically and at a minimum the following information:
-academic credentials
-pay and other compensation schedules over years
-any and all evaluations including those by the Michigan Commission for the Blind (board)
-all closed session minutes and records of the above listed item (re: bradlee v. Saranac Community Schools)
-all disciplinary records
(Again ref Bradlee and subsequent case law)
-all actions in courts of law, Civil Service Commission, or other administrative bodies, or quasi-judicial or judicial or judicial in nature in his personnel file
Again this request includes all public domain, and all adjudications public or private against him in his official capacity in courts of law or other quasi-legal or administrative jurisdictions
-any criminal cases or legal considerations against him
-any cases in which he testified or was subpoenaed or gave any legal and binding deposition under law in which perjury might be a consideration
-any signed document to which he affixed his hand in official capacity related to the administration of federal funds and assurances with the United States Government relative to same in his official capacity including contracts, or contracts per se between the state of Michigan and the United States government including, but not exclusive of: the United States of America, Departments of Education, Dept. of Labor, Dept. of Justice, or any other "third party pass through agreements" including all those of which Patrick D. Cannon affixed his hand regarding memorandums of understanding with various state of Michigan entities over his term as Director.
In other words, lest this is an exercise in futility I wish for any document signed by Patrick D. Cannon in his official capacity as Director of Michigan Commission for the Blind since his sworn and most accomplished role as MCB Director.
Moreover, I am now also officially requesting any documents by Ms. Jo Anne Pilarski, since she assumed the position of MCB commissioner and Chair of MCB, in her official capacity as same.
/Again, I wish for each and every requested document in accessible format. Finally I, as a person who is documented as legally blind am requesting that any and all, except for purely redacted, exempt information under either the federal FOIA and the Michigan FOIA request pursuant to concurrent obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title II, subpart e, effective communications) and the relevant portions of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("auxiliary aid and services"" request with no "surcharge" for such accommodations that such remissions are made in a timely and accessible manner (re: Tyler v. Manhattan to name one case cite)).
To wit: I ask for all the requested information within 30 days in the format most accessible to me without charge for the accommodation. That format is to make the documents available to me as either Word or plain text attachments, or enclosures to my E-mail address listed above.
Reasonable redactions to the original request may be made as does the U.S. Dept. of Justice or other entities in these regards by simply xxxx out the redacted information. In other words I don't wish for Patrick D. Canon's social security number for example. And it can and should be easily redacted without making a federal or state case over other required information.
Any stalling or other violations of this request over quibbles will be attended to with all legal vigor and with the full force of law.
I thank you, as I have in the past for your, Carla Hayne's, prompt, courteous and accessible responses to such inquiries.
Most sincerely,
Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
Cc: U.S DOJ
Cc: Office for Civil Rights, Ed.
Cc: NFB MI
Cc: Advocates for the Blind
Cc: MCBVI
Cc: MCB Commissioners
Cc: ACLU Michigan
Cc: MPAS
Cc: Great Lakes Techinical Assistence Center
Cc: Governor Rick Snyder
Cc: Michigan Attorney General
Cc: Rheabiliation and Services Administration (RSA) (Craig McManus, MI Llaission, Lynnae Ruttledge RSA Commissioner)
Cc: several media and legal contacts.
P.S. It would be prudent to place upon the Michigan commission for the blind web site all requested information in a timely and accessible manner as a means of complying both with the letter and spiritt of this request for information along with all of the years of State Plan and other required information to.
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