Frederick County utilizes an online FOIA Request portal, NextRequest. If you click on the "Submit a request through the Web" button, you will be taken to the NextRequest system.

The portal is not the only way to submit a FOIA request, but it can help individuals find public records that might already be online or be directed to the proper outlet for their request if it is not the County, thus saving time and resources. Additionally, members of the public can now submit, track, and receive documents for their records requests online. Please direct questions or concerns regarding this system to Karen Vacchio, FOIA Officer, 540-722-8307.

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), found in Virginia Code § 2.2-3700 et seq., provides citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees. Please note that the information on this page is general information regarding Frederick County’s FOIA practices and procedures but that FOIA also contains further provisions regarding specific rules governing FOIA requests and responses.

A public record is any writing or recording -- regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format -- that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees, or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, but may be withheld if an exemption applies.

• You have the right to request to inspect and/or receive copies of public records, unless an exemption applies.
• You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance. 
• If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in general district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA.

• You may request records by mail, fax, phone, e-mail, via this website, or in person. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing, nor do you need to state that you are requesting records under FOIA. Nevertheless, the County would prefer requests to be submitted, in writing, through our online request system.
• If you are making a request other than through our online request system, or if you have questions or require assistance regarding FOIA, please contact:

County Administrator's Office

Attention: Karen Vacchio, Public Information Officer/FOIA Officer

107 North Kent Street

Winchester, VA 22601

Phone: 540-722-8307

• In addition, the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is available to answer any questions you may have about FOIA. The Council may be contacted by e-mail at Email: foiacouncil@dls.virginia.gov, or by phone at (804) 225-3056 or toll free 1-866-448-4100.
• FOIA requests do not have to be in writing, but it may be helpful to put your request in writing. This allows you to create a record of your request. It also gives the County a clear statement of what records you are requesting, to help enable a better, more prompt response.
• Your request must identify the records you are seeking with “reasonable specificity” -  specific enough so that the County can identify and locate the requested records.
• You may request existing records or documents. FOIA does not apply to general questions about the work of the County and its public officers, officials, and employees, nor does it require the County to create a record that does not exist.
• You do not have to state why you want the records, although that is often helpful to do so, for the County to be best able to provide what you are looking for. FOIA does allow the County to ask you for your name and legal address.
• You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by the County in the regular course of business. For example, if you are requesting records maintained in an Excel database, you may elect to receive those records electronically or to receive a printed copy of those records.

• The County must make one of the following responses within five (5) working days of receiving your request ("Day One" is considered the day after your request is received and the five-day period does not include weekends or holidays):

• Provide the records in their entirety.
• Withhold the records in their entirety, because all of the records are subject to an exemption. The County will respond in writing, identifying the volume and subject matter of the records being withheld, and citing the law that allows the County to withhold the records.
• Provide some of the records that you have requested, but withhold other records. The County may also redact any portion of the records that may be withheld, and provide you with the remainder of the record. The County will respond in writing, identifying the records withheld/redacted, and citing the law that allows the County to withhold/redacted the records.
• Inform you in writing that the requested records cannot be found or do not exist. However, if the County knows that another public body has the requested records, the County will include contact information for the other public body in the County’s response to you.
• If it is practically impossible for the County to respond to your request within the five-day period, the County will state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This will allow the County seven (7) additional working days to respond to your request (or sixty (60) additional days for a request for criminal investigative files pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3706.1).

• If you request a very large number of records, and the County cannot provide the records to you within 12 working days without disrupting its other responsibilities, the County will make a reasonable effort to reach an agreement with you concerning the time for producing the records. If an agreement cannot be reached, the County may petition the circuit court for additional time to respond. 
• Please see the section below about costs and deposits with regard to further information regarding response times.

• Virginia Code § 2.2-3704.1(A)(6):  A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and shall make all reasonable efforts to supply the requested records at the lowest possible cost. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. Prior to conducting a search for records, the public body shall notify the requester in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and inquire of the requester whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
• If the County estimates that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, the County will require you to pay a deposit, in the amount of the estimate, before proceeding with your request (the County’s time to respond is suspended until we receive the deposit).  Any additional amount due must be paid upon release of the records. Any overpayment remaining from the deposit will be returned to the requester.
• You may request a cost estimate before the County responds to your request (if you request an estimate, and after the County provides the estimate, you have 30 days to let us know to proceed, and the County’s time to respond is suspended until we hear from you).
• If you owe the County money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, you must pay the past-due bill before the County will respond to your new FOIA request.

 Frederick County calculates charges based upon the actual cost of staff time and out-of-pocket costs, as follows:

• Costs include staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs, and any other costs related to supplying the requested records.
• Staff time:
  • $25.00 per hour, unless use of personnel at a higher pay rate is necessary, based upon the particular nature of the request, in which case the time fee will be based upon the annualized County pay rate for the particular individual(s) preparing the response to the request.
  • The County will take measures to keep staff time and costs to a minimum, including using lower paid staff capable of retrieving and reviewing records. However, such as in situations where a particular individual is required to search through his/her own email and files contained on his/her individual County computer or other device, it shall not be unreasonable for that individual to retrieve and/or review the requested records and charge a FOIA response fee corresponding to his/her salary.
  • The County will waive charges for staff time of 15 minutes or less spent searching and copying for any individual making not more than one request in a 12-month period.

Copying and other costs (the County will waive these costs, if less than $5.00, for any one-time FOIA request):

• Copies (11X17 and smaller pages ):  $.05 per page
• Copies (items in excess of 11X17, as such items generally require specialized equipment to reproduce):  $1.00 per page
• A page constitutes one side of a document.  A double-sided document counts as two pages
• USB device:  $5.00 per device
• Mail/delivery:  actual cost to mail/deliver the request (no charge for items by USPS if two ounces or less) Other/specialty items (including audio/video recordings):  as determined by responding personnel, based on actual cost

Common Types of Public Records Frederick County Maintains

• Finance and budget records
• Land use (zoning, subdivision, building code) records
• Public safety (law enforcement and fire/rescue) records
• Board and committee agendas and meeting materials (many of these items are also available directly, at https://www.fcva.us/departments/board-of-supervisors/meeting-agendas-minutes-video)

• Virginia law allows the County to withhold certain records from public disclosure and the County will routinely withhold documents that are subject to the following FOIA exemptions:

• Personnel records (Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.1(1))
• Records subject to attorney-client privilege (Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.1(2)) or that constitute attorney work product (Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.1(3))
• Appraisals and cost estimates of real property subject to a proposed purchase, sale, or lease, prior to the completion of such purchase, sale, or lease (Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.1(8))
• Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.1(12))
• Most tax records (Virginia Code § 58.1-3)

• For a full list of exemptions, see Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.1 et seq.

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