Litchfield Police Department Adds Civilian Coordinator to Handle Surging Public Records Requests

Litchfield City Council Meeting | April 16, 2026

Article Summary: To alleviate the administrative burden on sworn officers, the Litchfield City Council approved a new civilian coordinator position within the police department to manage Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and other duties.

Civilian Coordinator Key Points:

• The new position is budgeted at a salary of $61,000 for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2026 and Fiscal Year 2027.

• The coordinator will serve as the city’s designated FOIA Officer, processing records requests citywide, including body camera footage redaction.

• The position aims to free up the Police Chief and officers to spend more time engaged with the community rather than doing deskwork.

The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, April 16, 2026, voted to approve a resolution creating a civilian coordinator position within the Police Department, featuring a salary of $61,000, to manage a drastic increase in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

City Administrator Breann Vazquez and Police Chief Carpenter strongly advocated for the position, citing the unsustainable administrative workload currently falling on the chief’s desk.

“I think last week I got about 11 of them,” Chief Carpenter said regarding the FOIA requests. “They’ll want copies of police reports… video and audio tapes. You can’t just send a video. You have to there’s a lot of redacting involved… that would take hours and hours to do.”

City Administrator Vazquez noted that the threat of litigation makes strict adherence to FOIA deadlines imperative. “My communities are now getting on average 15 to 30 FOIA requests a week, sometimes as many as 15 in a day,” Vazquez said. “If you don’t respond immediately, fully, and properly… you will immediately be sued.”

Alderman Holloway stressed that the new position will allow the police chief to lead more effectively. “Obviously the role of the chief is to lead a department, but we also want our chief out in the community… And it’s hard to do that… whenever you’re spending hours and hours redacting behind a desk.”

According to the agenda packet, the position will be funded using the Police Department’s existing budget.