The Freedom of Information Act allows us — journalists, and you, too — to request information from government agencies and officials. It's public information, and it belongs to you.

However, both the federal and Michigan FOIA laws allow those government agencies and officials to charge you in order to get the records you're seeking. And sometimes, those fees can be hefty.

Want to know the current record for a cost estimate on a single records request made by NowKalamazoo? When we asked a certain entity for emails among its leadership about the firing of a finance official, they wanted more than $12,000 to sort through the records.

Good journalism and holding public bodies accountable is expensive, but with your help we can keep government transparent.

Please consider donating to support The Local Journalism Foundation's FOIA Fund, a pool set up to specifically cover the costs of information requests to public bodies in Kalamazoo County.

The FOIA Fund

By Local Journalism Foundation Inc

The FOIA Fund

Help journalists cover costs for Freedom of Information Act requests