A. Providing "Fullest Assistance:" Mindful of the requirements of RCW 42.56.100, to the extent reasonably possible, the PRO will process requests in the order allowing the most requests to be processed in the most efficient manner. In an effort to better understand the request and provide all responsive records, the PRO can inquire about the purpose for the request, but the requestor is not required to answer except to establish whether inspection and copying would violate RCW 42.56.070(9) (see subsection E below) or other statute which exempts or prohibits production of specific information or records to certain persons.
B. Acknowledging Receipt Of Request: Within five (5) business days of receipt of the request, not including the day the request was received, the weekend or holiday as provided by RCW 1.12.040, the PRO will do one or more of the following:
1. Make the records available for inspection or copying;
2. If copies are requested and payment or payment of a deposit is made as provided in section 1-10-7 below, or terms of payment are agreed upon, send the copies to the requestor;
3. Provide a reasonable estimate of any additional time needed to respond to the request and a date by which the records will be produced in whole or in part depending on whether the records are being provided in installments. The factors used to estimate the additional time needed must be based upon objective criteria. Additional time is allowed under the following circumstances:
a. To request clarification from the requestor if the request is unclear or does not sufficiently identify the requested records. Such clarification may be requested and provided by telephone. If the clarification is made by telephone, the PRO will confirm the scope of the clarification in writing. The confirmation will be deemed the correct statement of the scope of the request unless the requestor responds with a supplemental request;
b. To locate and assemble the information requested;
c. To notify third persons or agencies in the event the requested records contain information that may affect rights of others and may be exempt from production; or
d. To determine whether any of the information requested is exempt from production and that a denial should be made as to all or part of the request; or
4. Deny or redact the request, specifying the reasons for denial or redaction, including supporting legal citations.
C. Failure To Respond:
1. By The PRO: If the PRO does not respond in writing within five business days of receipt of the request for disclosure, the requestor should consider contacting the PRO to determine the reason for the failure to respond.
2. By The Requestor: If the requestor fails to respond to an agency request to clarify the request, and the entire record is unclear, the City need not respond to it. Otherwise, the City must respond to those portions of the request that are clear.
D. Injunction: Pursuant to RCW 42.56.565, the City may seek to enjoin the inspection or copying of any nonexempt public record by persons serving criminal sentences in state, local, or privately operated correctional facilities.
E. Records Exempt From Production: Some records are exempt from production, in whole or in part. If a record is exempt from production and subject to denial, the PRO will state the specific exemption and provide a brief explanation of the denial and how the exemption applies to the record being withheld. This explanation should be sufficient to enable the requestor to make a threshold determination of whether the claimed exemption and denial is proper. If only a portion of a record is exempt from production, but the remainder is not exempt, the PRO will redact the exempt portions, produce the nonexempt portions, and indicate to the requestor why portions of the record are being redacted. (For the purposes of these Rules, redact means the exempt information will be covered in some manner and then the record will be photocopied and the photocopy then disclosed.)
Some records by law require third party notification or consent. The PRO will notify the requestor of the notification or consent requirement and add sufficient time to the estimated response time.
The City is also prohibited by statute from producing lists of individuals for commercial purposes. Therefore, if a request is received for any type of list of individuals, an inquiry as to whether the requestor intends to use the list for commercial purposes must be answered before the list can be provided. If the answer is that it will be used for such purposes, the list cannot be produced.
F. Inspection Of Records:
1. Consistent with other demands, the City shall promptly provide space to inspect public records. No member of the public may remove a document from the viewing area or disassemble or alter any document. The requestor shall indicate which documents he or she wishes the City to copy or scan, if any, and provide payment for those copies or scans.
2. The requestor must claim or review the assembled records within thirty (30) days of the PRO'S notification to him or her that the records are available for inspection or copying/scanning. The PRO will notify the requestor, in writing, of this requirement and inform the requestor that he or she should contact the PRO to make arrangements to claim or review the records. If the requestor or a representative of the requestor fails to claim or review the records within the thirty (30) day period or make other arrangements, the PRO may close the request and re-file the assembled records. Other public records requests can be processed ahead of a subsequent request by the same person for the same or almost identical records, which can be processed as a new request.
G. Providing Records In Installments: When the request is for a large number of records, the PRO may provide access for inspection and copying in installments, if he or she reasonably determines that it would be practical to provide the records in that manner. If, within thirty (30) days, the requestor fails to inspect the entire set of records or one or more of the installments, the PRO may stop searching for the remaining records and close the request.
H. Closing Withdrawn Or Abandoned Request: When the requestor either withdraws the request or fails to fulfill his or her obligations to inspect the records or pay the deposit or final payment for the requested copies, the PRO will close the request and so inform the requestor.
I. Later Discovered Documents: If, after the PRO has informed the requestor that he or she has provided all available records, the PRO becomes aware of additional responsive documents existing at the time of the request that had not been provided previously, he or she will promptly inform the requestor of the additional documents and provide them on an expedited basis.
J. Requests For Information Or Nonexistent Records: Requests for information are not public records requests. An agency is not required to conduct legal research for a requestor. An agency is not required to create records to respond to a request. (Ord. 1019, 6-5-2023)