Michigan Township charges reporter $164,000 for records related to fire chief, church shooting

A Michigan township told a reporter she would have to pay more than $160,000 for documents she requested after a horrific church shooting and fire that took place Sept. 28.

Anna Matson, an independent reporter, was one of the first people on the scene of the mass shooting and arson of a Latter Day Saints church in Grand Blanc.

A man crashed his truck into the building near Flint and started shooting. Five people, including the shooter, were killed, while eight were injured.

Matson has filed three records requests with the township. She sought roughly six months of communications between the township’s superintendent and its township fire chief.

Grand Blanc Township charged me over $100k for a FOIA request. The first step to fight this is to appeal to the board. If they deny the appeal, the only other option is to sue the township.

They already denied one of my appeals. Let’s see if they change their mind for the other… pic.twitter.com/Q4lomGjNUP

— Anna Matson (@AnnaRMatson) November 26, 2025

Matson said that the township billed her over $65,170 for “legal review,” which isn’t an authorized charge under the Freedom of Information Act. The government can only charge for searching, locating and redacting records. The township also, she said, charged her for work done by information technology employees, some of the township's most highly paid employees. The law requires government bodies to charge the rate of the lowest-paid employee who can do the work.

“Everything is wrong about this invoice,” Matson told CapCon in a telephone interview.

“People need to pay attention to what’s going on at the local level. Because it affects their daily life — the roads that they drive on, the water they drink, sewer, parks, fire police — all is controlled at the local level,” Matson said. “And when you don’t pay attention, stuff like this happens.”

Matson has submitted other records requests to local, state, federal government offices.

The township initially responded to CapCon’s request for comment but then failed to follow up.

Matson is part of a growing number of independent reporters who have emerged to cover news as legacy newspapers shrink their own reporting resources.