[nfbmi-talk] Fw: FOIA Response to Request for Information on

Thu Jul 3 12:50:41 UTC 2014

Again this scofflaw entity is attempting to extort through abuse of the FOIA money from me to remit documents it already has or should have in readily accessable format.

Moreover, this chronicals abuse of the ADA and Section 504 on several counts.

1. The policy is discriminatory on its face.
2. The surcharge which is prohibited under the ADA and 504 is built right in to the arbitrary and capricious whims of this agency which is clear upon its face.

3. This along with the literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in similar responses constitutes a malicious, intentional, pattern and practice of abuse and civil rights violations, which is documented and not just asserted, by the very agency which is funded and is supposed to be fully accessible to people who are blind in all of its affairs.
4. These obfiscations are intended to hide the operations of this agency including its contracting from the public and thus to hide waste, fraud and abuse in the program over all which is a VR program and employes VR funds for crying out loud.

Sincerely,

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Haynes, Carla (LARA) 
To: joe harcz Comcast 
Cc: Rodgers, Edward (LARA) ; Luzenski, Sue (LARA) ; Pemble, Mike (LARA) ; Belknap, Katie (LARA) ; Jones, Leamon (LARA) ; Gaston, Diamalyn (LARA) ; Essenberg, Rob (LARA) ; Zanger, Connie (LARA) ; Hull, James (LARA) 
Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2014 8:35 AM
Subject: FOIA Response to Request for Information on 

July 3, 2014

Mr. Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

E-mail: joeharcz at comcast.net

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

Re:  FOIA Response to Request for Information on Agreements, Contracts & Memorandums of Understanding

Dear Mr. Harcz, Jr.:

This email is in response to your June 18, 2014, email request for information, received by this office on June 19, 2014, of which an extension was taken through July 3, 2014.  Please be advised that the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) is processing this request under the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq. 

You have requested information as described in your email (which is also below) as:

"I am writing you today to request all of the contracts and mmus referenced in the report to BSBP Commissioners (after signature line) in accessible format which you should already have."  Note:  The list referenced is contained in the email below.

Your request is granted as to existing, nonexempt documents pertaining to your request.  We estimate that the time to process this request is 9 hours.

Section 4(1) of the FOIA, MCL 15.234(1), provides that a public body may charge a fee for public record search, including the mailing costs, the cost of duplication or publication including labor, the cost of search, examination, review, and the deletion and separation of exempt from nonexempt information.

FOIA Response - P.J. Harcz, Jr.

Page 2 of 2

July 3, 2014

Please note that nothing within the federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA ), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (RA), as amended, or the state's FOIA (MCL 15.231 et seq.) requires a public body to process FOIA requests free of charge.  Further, while the ADA and Section 504 of the RA may mandate that, upon request, material be produced in an accessible format without charge, neither the ADA or Section 504 of the RA preclude a public body from charging costs under the state's FOIA.  Thusly, please note that no labor fee charges have been, or will be, assessed to convert existing, nonexempt public records responsive to your requests into an accessible format to forward to you.

In order to complete the processing of your request, and based on the hourly wages and benefits of the lowest paid Department employee capable of performing the necessary tasks to process your request, we are requesting a deposit of $141.16 in order to begin the processing of this request.  An invoice is attached that outlines the costs.

Once payment is received for the deposit, we will start the processing of your request.  Once the process is complete, we will request payment for the additional amount of the actual cost of the request.  When we receive this payment, we will send the information either to you via email or to you in the U.S. Mail on a USB flash drive (depending on the amount of material responsive to your request).

Sincerely,

Carla Miller Haynes, FOIA Coordinator

Bureau of Services for Blind Persons

Attachments - 2:  Invoice & Email Request for Information

cc:     Edward F. Rodgers II, Sue Luzenski

          Mike Pemble, Katie Belknap

Leamon Jones, Diamalyn Gaston

          Rob Essenberg, 

          Constance Zanger, James Hull

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

BUREAU OF SERVICES FOR BLIND PERSONS

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT INVOICE

NAME AND ADDRESS OF REQUESTER:

Mr. Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

E-mail: joeharcz at comcast.net

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

REQUEST RECEIVED:  June 19, 2014

TYPE OF REQUEST:  Email

REQUEST PARTIALLY DENIED:  No

EXEMPT INFORMATION WITHHELD/REDACTED:  To be determined

EXTENDED RESPONSE NOTICE ISSUED:  Yes through July 3, 2014

REQUESTED INFORMATION WILL BE:  Emailed/Invoiced For Payment

ACCOUNT CODE:  Index:   36200        PCA: 11343

DLARA CONTACT:  Melvin Farmer, Central FOIA Coordinator

(517) 373-0194, Ottawa Building, 4th Floor, 611 W. Ottawa, Lansing, MI  48909

The FOIA provides that the department may charge a fee to comply with requests for public records.  The processing fee is composed of hourly wages and benefit costs of the lowest paid employee(s) capable of processing the request; the duplication of records at assessed costs per page; mailing costs; and other related special costs.  Prior to searching and copying requested records, the department may request full payment or 50% of the estimated costs exceeding $50.00 with the balance required before mailing the records.  Assessed costs are related to your request for:

"I am writing you today to request all of the contracts and mmus referenced in the report to BSBP Commissioners (after signature line) in accessible format which you should already have."  Note:  The list referenced is contained in the email below.

INVOICE CALCULATIONS

LABOR 

          Locating and Duplicating Cost:  

Number of Hours:  8 hrs. x Hourly Rate: $31.37 = Amount:      $250.96

          Examining and Extracting Cost:  

Number of Hours: 1 hrs. x Hourly Rate: $31.37 = Amount: $31.37

TOTAL LABOR:           $282.33

POSTAGE (estimate):           To be determined based on the amount of information

DUPLICATING:  Number of Pages (0) times Copying Rate of $0

OTHER (overtime, audio tapes, discs, photos, security, etc.):  $0

SUBTOTAL:  $282.33

Less waived indigency fee under FOIA Act MCL 15.234 Section 4(1)       

INVOICE TOTAL:        $282.33

DEPOSIT* $141.16

BALANCE TO BE PAID*:     $141.17

Make check or money order payable to:         STATE OF MICHIGAN

Remit to:    Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Office Services Mailroom

7150 Harris Drive, PO Box 30015

Lansing, MI  48909

RETURN ORIGINAL COPY OF THIS INVOICE WITH YOUR PAYMENT

*Please note that if a deposit is requested, the indicated amount is an estimate of the cost of complying with your request.  The actual cost may vary somewhat from this amount.

From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]  

Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 12:47 PM 

To: Rodgers, Edward (LARA) 

Cc: Luzenski, Sue (LARA); Marlene Malloy MCRS Dir.; BRIAN SABOURIN; nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org; Gary 

Gaynor; commissioner-hudson at outlook.com; BSBPcommissioners; Christyne.Cavataio at ed.gov 

Subject: contract mmu request

June 18 2014 MMU and Contract Requests

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

joeharcz at comcast.net

810-516-5262

To:

Edward Rodgers, Director

Mich. Bureau Services for Blind Persons

Dear Mr. Rodgers,

I am writing you today to request all of the contracts and mmus referenced in the report to BSBP Commissioners (after signature line) in accessible format which you should already have. To wit: 

please send me them as either Word Attachments or plain text enclosures to my e-mail address listed above.

Sincerely,

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

Cc: MCRS

Cc: RSA

Cc: BSBP Commissioners

Cc: NFB MI

Attachment for your convenience and reference here:

Agreements, Contracts and Memorandums of Understanding (MOU'S)

Listed below are the agreements, contracts and MOU's that are in place with BSBP.  There are also statewide contracts for all of the Bureau's within LARA and some statewide contracts for every agency or bureau in state government.  Listed below are only those contracts that are specific for BSBP.

*        Three Interagency Cash Transfer Agreements for Ottawa & Kent County

*        Saginaw Valley Rehabilitation Center (SVRC)

*        Stevens Van Lines- Moving Service (BEP)

*        Kelly Services for temporary employees

*        Ambs Service- Message service for highway vending toll free refund 

number

*        David Chapman Agency- BEP Operator general group liability insurance policy

*        Indusco Cleaning Products

*        Elite contract for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)

*        Gordons Food Service (GFS) for FY2014

*        System 7 End User Maintenance and Support and Libera Help Desk

*        Vanguard (previously VHS aka Detroit Receiving)

*        Visually Impaired Services/ Detroit Medical Center

*        Memorandum of Understanding with each subregional Library

Carla Miller Haynes

LARA Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP)

201 N. Washington Square, 2nd Floor

P.O. Box 30652

Lansing, MI  48909

Telephone:  517-373-2063 or Toll-Free 1-800-292-4200

Fax:  517-335-5140

www.michigan.gov/bsbp

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