(a) Each request for public records should be evaluated for a response using the following guidelines.
(b) Although no specific language is required to make a request, the requester must at least identify the records requested with sufficient clarity to allow the City to identify, retrieve, and review the records. If it is not clear what records are being sought, the records custodian must contact the requester for clarification, and should assist the requestor in revising the request by informing the requestor of the manner in which the office keeps its records.
(c) The requester does not have to put a records request in writing, and does not have to provide his or her identity or the intended use of the requested public record. It is the City’s general policy to ask a requester to complete a request form, but a record request shall not be denied because the requester declines to complete the form.
(d) Public records are to be available for inspection during regular business hours. Public records must be made available for inspection promptly. Copies of public records must be made available within a reasonable period of time. “Prompt” and “reasonable” take into account the volume of records requested; the proximity of the location where the records are stored; and the necessity for any legal review of the records requested.
(e) Each request should be evaluated for an estimated length of time required to gather the records. Routine requests for records should be satisfied immediately if feasible to do so. Routine requests include, but are not limited to, meeting minutes (both in draft and final form), budgets, salary information, forms and applications, personnel rosters, etc. If fewer than 20 pages of copies are requested or if the records are readily available in an electronic format that can be e-mailed or downloaded easily, these should be made as quickly as the equipment and staffing allow.
(f) All requests for public records must either be satisfied or be acknowledged in writing by the appropriate City official within three business days following the City’s receipt of the request. If a request is deemed significantly beyond “routine”, such as seeking a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive research, the acknowledgment must include the following:
(1) An estimated number of business days it will take to satisfy the request.
(2) An estimated cost if copies are requested.
(3) Any items within the request that may be exempt from disclosure.
(g) Any denial of public records requested must include an explanation, including legal authority. If portions of a record are public and portions are exempt, the exempt portions are to be redacted and the rest released. If there are redactions, each redaction must be accompanied by a supporting explanation, including legal authority.
(Ord. 132-07. Passed 1-8-08.)