On an given day, Brockport Village Clerk Leslie Morelli said she receives upwards to 100 Freedom of Information requests. "It's gotten to the point where I have considered leaving this position because of the FOILS," she said at the May 6 village board meeting.

The receipt of a FOIL request could involve countless hours of research and oftentimes involves legal fees because of having to refer the requests to the village attorney. The acronym FOIL is used for the request for information.

Trustee Mort Wexler said it seems that there should be times when an individual could simply come in and ask a question such as 'How much does Mort Wexler make as a trustee?' and that person should be supplied a simple answer and not have to fill out a form. "I don't know where the legal line is but it seems that there are times a FOIL shouldn't be required," he said. "If the information is there and it's obvious ... then just give the answer."

Mayor Josephine Matella said that many of the people who FOIL the village ask for specific, and sometimes, legal information, that requires the involvement of the attorney. Items that involve litigation or chemical contamination are not so easily answered, she said.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Brad Upson said he is in the process of compiling information for an attorney out of Syracuse on all of the village's sewer and underground pipe systems. "That could take me months to research all of that information," he said.

By law, a request must be responded to within five days but the village has some discretion as to how long it could take to compile the information.

"Not everything should have to be FOILed," Wexler said. "Not everything has to be adversarial."

In other matters, Morelli reported that during the village's recent parking ticket amnesty period they colleged more than $5,675 in fines. The village received payment on 227 of the 2,309 outstanding tickets.

Police Chief Dan Varrenti suggested the village take tickets that are more than three years old and have the village attorney present them as "3030," or uncollectable. The Town of Sweden court will be taking over the village's parking fine collection duties and categorizing the tickets as uncollectable will make the transition easier for them.