The City will evaluate each request for public records using the following guidelines:
(a) Although the City does not require use of specific language 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 the City is not clear what records are being sought, the City 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 City keeps its records.
(b) The City does not require that a requester put a records request in writing, and does not require the requestor to provide his or her identity or the intended use of the requested public record. The City may ask a requestor to make the request in writing, ask for the requestor's identity and inquire about the intended use when such information would benefit the requestor by enhancing the ability of the City to identify, locate or deliver the public records south by the requestor. However, the City must first disclose that a written request is not mandatory and that the requestor may decline to reveal the requestor's identity or the intended use.
(c) The City will make public records available for inspection during regular business hours, with the exception of published holidays. The City must make public records available for inspection promptly. The City must make copies of public records 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.
(d) (1) The City should evaluate each request for an estimated length of time required to gather the records. The City should immediately satisfy routine requests for records 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 the request constitutes fewer than 20 pages of copies or if the records are readily available in an electronic format that the City can e-mail or download easily, the City should make the records available as quickly as the equipment allows.
(2) The City must either satisfy each request (see division (d)(1)) or acknowledge it in writing within three business days following receipt of the request. If the City deems the request is significantly beyond "routine," such as seeking a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive research, the acknowledgment must include the following:
A. An estimated number of business days it will take to satisfy the request.
B. An estimated cost if copies are requested.
C. Any items within the request that may be exempt from disclosure.
(e) The City must include an explanation, including legal authority, of any denial of public records requested. If portions of a record are public and portions are exempt, the City will redact the exempt portions and release the rest. If the City makes any redactions, it must accompany each redaction with a supporting explanation, including legal authority.
(Ord. 115-08. Passed 3-20-08.)