Corporation Counsel

Corporation Counsel provides legal representation, advice, and counsel to Ottawa County, its boards, departments, funded units, elected officials and employees so they can legally fulfill their official duties. The Department is a repository for County Ordinances and maintains the Ottawa County Code. It also serves as the designated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Coordinator for Ottawa County.

Frequently Requested Information

Before submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we encourage you to check the links below to see if the information you’re looking for is already available online. You’ll find many frequently requested documents here, including:

• Well & Septic Records – Request records for water wells and septic systems in the county.
• Property & Parcel Data –  View property details including assessed values, tax description, sales, split history, and GIS parcel maps. You can also find information about delinquent taxes, complete a tax search to view a breakdown/history of taxes, or request payoff amounts for future months.
• Meeting Minutes, Agendas & More – Visit our Boards & Commissions Hub for information and minutes from Ottawa County Boards
• Deeds – Search and purchase digital or certified copies of Ottawa County Register of Deeds documents online.
• Vital Records – Search birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, and genealogy records online.
• Court Records – Court record searches may be conducted by visiting MiCOURT Case Search.
• Election & Campaign Information –  Find comprehensive results from recent and past elections and explore campaign finance data.
• Commissioner Wages – The salaries of Ottawa’s Commissioners are determined by the Officers’ Compensation Commission as permitted by PA 485 of 1978.

Tips for Making a FOIA Request

​FOIA gives you the right to access and copy public documents, subject to some statutory exemptions. To help you best frame your request, consider the following suggestions:

• FOIA provides records, not answers.
  FOIA provides access to existing public documents. It does not require staff to answer questions or create new explanations.
  Example: Requesting “emails sent by the Planning Director about Project X” works better than asking “Why was Project X approved?”
• Be as specific as possible about the documents you want.
  FOIA works best when you clearly identify the records you are seeking. Example: “Invoices submitted by XYZ Construction in 2022” rather than “spending related to parking lot projects.”
• FOIA is not ideal for open-ended research.
  Requests that involve searching for documents you are unsure exist often result in large, costly searches. Example: “Documents about county technology” is far less effective than “the 2024 IT Strategic Plan.”
• When requesting communications, name the people and time frame.
  Identifying specific individuals and dates helps limit the search to relevant records.
• Avoid broad or ambiguous phrases.
  Terms such as “any and all” or “related to” cannot be used effectively in electronic searches and often unnecessarily expand the scope.
• Narrowing a request is meant to help you.
  If you are asked to refine your request, the goal is to focus on the records you actually want while reducing search and review costs.
• Response deadlines differ from delivery timelines.
  FOIA sets deadlines for the initial response, but not for when records must be fully produced. Large or complex requests may take time. In some instances, where significant review will be required, such as with videos, it may take weeks or even months before you receive the documents.