Local governments see increase Freedom of Information Act requests

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Local governments across central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley are working to make sure you have access to public records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

FOIA is on the books at both the state and federal level. It gives the public access to some government records.

"What you're requesting is public information, public records, public documents which belong to the public and so we do the best that we can to make sure we get those proceed smoothly and efficiently to get people the information they're looking for,” Albemarle County Spokesperson Emily Kilroy said.

Training is another aspect of FOIA law for government employees to make sure they know what to turn over. With so many requests coming in, the city of Charlottesville formalized its FOIA process over the past year.

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