If a Delaware town is considering banning chickens, can a resident FOIA the underlying complaints, and must the town post agendas online and keep detailed minutes?
Plain-English summary
The Town of Millsboro is considering amending a Town Charter provision about keeping domestic fowl. Elise Altergott filed a FOIA request with eight items: all documents about every chicken complaint in Town; paperwork and a list of court cases the Town filed about chickens; paperwork and minutes for court cases mentioned at the January 25, 2025 Charter and Code Committee meeting; the agenda and minutes of the committee meeting that discussed "outlawing" chickens; and several website links for committee meeting postings and public notices.
The Town responded item by item: it withheld the chicken complaints as investigatory files under § 10002(o)(3); provided a responsive document and a link to the minutes for the court-case item; provided links to the Town website for agendas and minutes; stated that no meeting occurred on September 2, 2025; and pointed to the Town hall door posting and the Town's event calendar for public notices.
Altergott petitioned, arguing the complaints were improperly withheld, the link-only responses were inadequate, the minutes were too vague to show that she had been discussed, and the agendas should be online.
The AG found no violation on any point:
- Chicken complaints: investigatory files exempt. The FOIA coordinator's affidavit stated the complaints were received by the Town Police Department and the Building and Code Official. Because they pertain to investigations for civil code enforcement and criminal law-enforcement purposes, the complaints are part of the investigatory file and are exempt under § 10002(o)(3).
- Website-link responses: compliant. Several requests expressly sought links, so providing them did not violate FOIA. For the items asking for records, the Town's link to its website was compliant because Altergott did not indicate she lacked internet access or that the records were missing from the site.
- Meeting minutes: sufficient. FOIA requires only a record of members present and, by individual members (except for a town assembly where all citizens may vote), of each vote taken and action agreed upon. It does not require summaries of discussion, so the general minutes complied.
- Agenda posting: no online requirement. FOIA does not require municipal public bodies to post agendas online; they must post notice at the principal office of the public body. Posting at Town hall satisfied that.
What this means for you
If you want to know who complained about chickens (or any code issue)
The opinion treats complaints received by the Town police and the Building and Code Official as part of investigatory files exempt under § 10002(o)(3). On this reasoning, those complaints are not reachable through FOIA.
If a public body answered your request with a website link
The opinion found that responding with a link is compliant where some requests expressly asked for links, and where the requester has not indicated a lack of internet access or that the records are not actually on the site.
If you think minutes are too vague or agendas should be online
The opinion holds that FOIA requires minutes to record only members present and the votes and actions taken, not summaries of discussion, and that FOIA does not require municipalities to post agendas online (posting at the principal office is enough).
Common questions
Why were the chicken complaints withheld?
The Town's affidavit said the complaints were received by the Town Police Department and the Building and Code Official. The opinion concluded those complaints pertain to civil code-enforcement and criminal law-enforcement investigations, so they are part of an investigatory file and exempt under § 10002(o)(3).
Is a link a proper FOIA response?
The opinion found it was here. Several of Altergott's requests asked specifically for links. For the requests seeking records, the Town's link to where the minutes were posted was compliant because she did not say she lacked internet access or that the records were absent from the site.
Do minutes have to describe what was discussed?
No. The opinion quotes FOIA as requiring only a record of members present and, by individual members (with an exception for a town assembly), each vote taken and action agreed upon. Because that level of detail is not required, the AG found no violation in minutes that did not let Altergott tell she had been discussed.
Does a town have to post agendas online?
No. The opinion states FOIA does not require municipal public bodies to post agendas online; they must post notice at the principal office of the public body. Posting at Town hall satisfied FOIA.
Background and statutory framework
29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3) excludes from the definition of public record "[i]nvestigatory files compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes." The opinion applies that to complaints received by the Town's police and code-enforcement officials.
On meeting minutes, the opinion quotes FOIA's requirement of "a record of those members present and a record, by individual members (except where the public body is a town assembly where all citizens are entitled to vote), of each vote taken and action agreed upon," and notes that public bodies are not required to create summaries of every discussion.
On notice, the opinion states that municipal public bodies must post notice "at the principal office of the public body holding the meeting" and that FOIA does not require municipalities to post agendas online.
29 Del. C. § 10005 provides the petition process used here.
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2025/10/16/25-ib51-10-16-25-foia-opinion-letter-to-elise-altergott-re-town-of-millsboro/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2025/10/Attorney-General-Opinion-No.-25-IB51.pdf
Original opinion text
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Attorney General Opinion No. 25-IB51
October 16, 2025
VIA EMAIL
Elise Altergott
[email protected]
RE: FOIA Petition Regarding the Town of Millsboro
Dear Ms. Altergott:
We write in response to your correspondence alleging that the Town of Millsboro violated Delaware's Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del. C. §§ 10001-10008 ("FOIA"). We treat this correspondence as a Petition for a determination pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10005 of whether a violation of FOIA has occurred or is about to occur. As discussed more fully herein, we determine that the Town did not violate FOIA as alleged in responding to this request and did not commit the asserted meeting-related violations.
BACKGROUND
The Town of Millsboro is considering a proposal to amend a Town Charter provision related to the keeping of domestic fowl. On September 5, 2025, you submitted a FOIA request to the Town seeking eight items: (1) all documents relating to every complaint regarding chickens within Town limits; (2) all paperwork regarding court cases the Town has filed related to chickens; (3) all court cases filed, won, and lost regarding chickens in Town; (4) all paperwork and minutes regarding the court cases mentioned at the January 25, 2025 Charter and Code Committee meeting (5) the meeting agenda, minutes, and ratified minutes of the Charter and Code Committee meeting where they discussed "outlawing" chickens; (6) the website link to all the postings regarding Charter and Code Committee's September 2, 2025 meeting including the agenda, minutes, and ratified minutes; (7) the website link for all past and future public notices of the Charter and Code Committee's "September 2, 2025" meetings; and (8) the website link for all past and future public notices regarding all committees. For the first three items, the Town replied that investigatory files are not public records under Section 10002(o)(3) of FOIA. For the fourth item requesting "paperwork" regarding the minutes that discussed court cases, the Town provided a responsive document and provided a link to the Town website where the minutes can be found. For the fifth item seeking agendas and minutes for Committee meetings discussing outlawing chickens, the Town gave a website link. For the sixth item regarding a September 2, 2025 meeting, the Town replied that a meeting was not held on that date. For the seventh and eighth items, the Town stated that all public meetings are posted on the Town hall door and the Town's event calendar, giving a link to this webpage. This Petition followed.
In the Petition, you assert that you would like to know the details of the complaints regarding your or others' keeping of chickens, but the Town denied the request under the investigatory files exemption. You argue that the FOIA request was not properly answered, as the Town merely advised you where to search for answers. You further allege that the meeting minutes are not clear because no or minimal information is provided; only after research were you able to discern that you were referenced in the meeting discussions. You do not consider the agendas to be public as you must go to the Town hall to view them and object to the fact that the agendas have not been published on the Town's website.
The Town, through its legal counsel, replied to this Petition and enclosed the affidavits of the FOIA coordinator and Town Manager ("Response"). The Town asserts it properly withheld the complaints pursuant to the investigatory files exemption in 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3). The Town contends that the code enforcement office is the type of investigative agency covered by the exemption, and whether a chicken complaint was filed with the police department or the building and code official, the Town appropriately denied access under this exemption. The Town also argues that the reference to the links where the records could be found was appropriate, because some of your requests specifically asked for a link, and providing website links has been previously found to be a sufficient response under FOIA. The Town also notes, upon receiving this Petition, the Town Manager did an additional search for court records out of an abundance of caution and found one more responsive document believed to be inadvertently misfiled, which was enclosed with the Town Manager's affidavit. The Town further alleges that its minutes complied with FOIA, as the topics of the meeting are not required to be summarized, nor does FOIA define how specific any summaries must be. The Town states that the agendas are posted on the door of Town hall but not online; FOIA does not require the online posting of agendas for municipal bodies.
DISCUSSION
Delaware's FOIA law "was enacted to ensure governmental accountability by providing Delaware's citizens access to open meetings and meeting records of governmental or public bodies, as well as access to the public records of those entities." The public body has the burden of proof to justify its denial of access to records and to demonstrate compliance with the FOIA statute. In certain circumstances, a sworn affidavit may be required to meet that burden. This Petition presents both issues related to public records and open meetings for review.
Claims Related to Public Records
The Petition alleges that the chicken complaints were improperly withheld. FOIA requires that citizens be provided reasonable access to and reasonable facilities for the copying of public records. However, "[i]nvestigatory files compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes" are excluded from the definition of "public record." In this case, the affidavit of the FOIA coordinator attached to the Response states that complaints about chickens were received by the Town Police Department and the Building and Code Official. As these complaints pertain to investigations for civil code enforcement and criminal law enforcement purposes, the complaints themselves are considered part of the investigatory file and are exempt under 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3).
The Petition also alleges that the Town merely provided website links in its response to some items, which required you to locate the records. Several requests expressly sought website links, so the Town did not violate FOIA in providing a requested link. For the fourth and fifth items in the request, the Town provided a link where the meeting records were kept. You have not indicated that you lack access to the internet to view these records, nor that the records were not present on the website. Thus, the responses directing you to the Town's website for access to public records is compliant with FOIA's mandate that public records be made available to citizens.
Claims Related to Open Meetings
The Petition argues that the meeting minutes were unclear, as you could not discern that you were the subject of some discussions without additional research. Public bodies are not required to create specific summaries for every discussion that occurs in their minutes. FOIA merely requires "a record of those members present and a record, by individual members (except where the public body is a town assembly where all citizens are entitled to vote), of each vote taken and action agreed upon." Accordingly, as such level of specificity is not required, we find no violation occurred with respect to your claim that the minutes on their face do not allow you to identify the meeting discussions pertaining to you.
You also contend that the posting of the meeting agendas at the Town hall, and not online, does not constitute "public" notice. FOIA does not require municipal public bodies to post their agendas online. Rather, municipal public bodies must post "said notice at the principal office of the public body holding the meeting." Thus, we do not find a violation for the Town's failure to post its agendas online.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, we conclude that the Town did not violate FOIA as alleged in responding to this request and did not commit the asserted meeting-related violations.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Dorey L. Cole
Dorey L. Cole
Deputy Attorney General
Approved:
/s/ Patricia A. Davis
Patricia A. Davis
State Solicitor
cc: Mary R. Schrider-Fox, Town Solicitor