10-712 Public Records Requesto SOPCITY OF MERIDIAN RESOLUTION NO. ~ D - ~ ~ oZ.
BY THE CITY COUNCIL: BIRD, HOAGLUN, ROUNTREE, ZAREMBA
A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE CITY OF MERIDIAN STANDARD OPERATING
POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL TO ADD A NEW POLICY REGARDING
RESPONSE TO REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC RECORDS OR INFORMATION; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council have authority over the operations, polices, and
procedures for the City of Meridian;
WHEREAS, in 2002, the City adopted a Standard Operating Policy and Procedures
Manual applicable to all employees of the City of Meridian; and
WHEREAS the City Council may amend the Manual from time to time as necessary to
incorporate changes as needed;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF MERIDIAN, IDAHO AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That a new policy shall be added to the City of Meridian Standard Operating
Policies and Procedures Manual, Policy no. b.17: Response to Requests for Public Records or
Information, a copy of which is attached and incorporated herein by reference as exhibit ~.
SECTION 2. That this Resolution, and the Policy added hereunder, shall be in full force
and effect on March 3, 2010.
ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Meridian, Idaho, this 2nd day of March,
2010.
APPROVED by the Mayor of the City of Meridian, Idaho, this 2nd day of March, 2010.
APPROVED:
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ADOPTION OF SOP N0.6.I7: RESPONSE TO REQilESTS ~OR PUBLIC RECORDS OR INFORMATION PAGE 1 OF 1
ExxisiT A
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE N0.6.17
CITY OF MERIDIAN
STANDARD OPERATING POLICY AND PROCEDURE
NUMBER 6.17
SUBJECT: REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC RECORDS OR INFORMATION
PURPOSE: To establish consistent, statutorily-compliant procedures and protocols for
employees to follow in replying to a request from a member of the public
for a public record or for public information.
POLICY: By law? from the date a request for uublic records or information is
received, the City has only three working davs to respond to the
request.
AUTHORITY & RESPONSIBILITY: The following procedure shall apply to all employees in
responding to public records requests, in order to ensure compliance with
the Idaho Public Records Act; supervisors and department heads shall
ensure compliance with this policy within their respective departments.
The Clerks' Office is the official custodian of all City records and shall
make final decisions regarding the administration and interpretation of this
policy.
Under the Idaho Public Records Act (Idaho Code sections 9-337 through 9-350}, there is a
presumption that all public records maybe examined and copied by any person. Upon receipt of
a request for a public record, whether such request is made in writing, verbally, or by a-mail, the
City must respond to the request within three working days. The City may grant the request,
deny the request, or notify the Requestor that more time is needed to respond. (Idaho Code
section 9-339(1}.)
Decisions regarding the release of public information, public records, or other information in the
custody of a public official are to be made by the City Clerk's Office, the official custodian of all
City records (see City of Meridian SOP no. 7.6(I}(Y}). This procedure establishes a timely,
consistent, and statutorily compliant process for handling all public records requests received.by
the City, whether received by the City Clerk's Office or by any other City department. This
policy applies to all City employees and departments, with the exception of the Meridian Fire
and Police Departments and their employees, to the extent that these departments have a specific,
pre-existing public records disclosure policy in place.
I. Intake of Public Records Requests
A. Time computation. By law, from the date a request for public records or information is
received, the City has only three working days to respond to the request. The three day
time limit does not include the date of the receipt of the request, but it does include the
last day. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays on which the City is closed are not included
in the three day time limit. {See Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6(a).} As to
requests received after 5:00 p.m., the date of receipt shall be the next working day.
B. Written Requests for Public Records. Upon receiving a written request for documents
or information, whether by mail, a-mail, fax, or personal delivery, employees shall route
the request to the City Clerk's Office by 5:00 p.m. on the same day'ofits receipt. Though
the City must respond to a request submitted to any department and received in any
written form, for purposes of clarity and efficiency, the public should be encouraged to
submit requests in writing and directly to the City Clerk's Office using the Public
Records Request Farm, which is available in the City Clerk's Office and online at the
City's website.
C. Oral Requests for Public Records. Upon receiving an oral request for documents or
information, employees may immediately provide such documents or information only if
all of these factors are present:
• The requested document or information is subject to disclosure under the Idaho
Public Records Act. If there is any question as to whether a record is subject to
disclosure, employees should inquire with the City Clerk's Office;
• Such documents or information are immediately accessible to the employee;
• No research or analysis is requested or required;
• No more than ten {10}paper copies are provided in response to the oral request.
If an oral request for public records does not meet all of the above criteria, the employee
receiving the request shall encourage the Requestor to submit a written request directly to
the City Clerk's Office, preferably using the Public Records Request Form.
II. Processing of Public Records Requests
Following receipt of a written request, any and all of the City's communication with the
Requestor should come from the City Clerk's Office. Questions, concerns, and/or follow-up
communications, whether from the employee referring the Requestor to the City Clerk, or from
the Requestor himJherself, should be routed to the City Clerk's Office in order to ensure that
there is a consistent, centralized line of communication between the City and the Requestor.
A. City Clerk Notifies City Attorney and Department Retaining Records. Upon receipt
of a request far public records or information, the City Clerk shall promptly: (1}provide
the City Attorney or his designee a copy of the public records request, and (2) request the
records from the department responsible for retaining the requested documents or
information. The City Clerk will inform such department of the date and time by which
it must copy and return the responsive materials to the City Clerk's Office.
It is essential for employees to understand that time is of the essence in providing a
res on nse to a public records re nest. By law. the City has only three working, days from
the date the request is received to respond to the request. Qdaho Code section 9-339(1).)
Further, unless otherwise expressly directed by the City Clerk's Office or the City
Attorney's Office, no employee shall redact, modify, edit, omit, destroy, or censor any
document or information that is responsive to the request. Employees may discuss with
the City Clerk and/or City Attorney any concerns regarding personal, sensitive,
irrelevant, or exempt information known to be contained in any responsive record.
B. Department Attempts to Locate Records. Upon receipt of a request from the City
Clerk, the deparhnent retaining the requested record shall identify which of the following
procedures is applicable, and comply accordingly.
DEPARTMENT ACTION 1: The department shall promptly reproduce and provide copies of
the responsive materials to the City Clerk's Office if:
• The department is able to locate, reproduce, and provide copies of the responsive
materials to the City Clerk's Office within the designated time period, and
• Locating and retrieving the responsive records will require less than one (I}hour of
staff time, and
• The responsive records are less than one hundred (100) or more pages in length.
Clerk's Office action: Upon receipt of the responsive materials from the department,
the City Clerk's Off ice shall seek City Attorney review as set forth below prior to
sending the response to the Requestor.
DEPARTMENT ACTION Z: The department shall immediately provide an estimate of staff
time needed and number of pages that will comprise the response if:
The department is able to locate, reproduce, and provide copies of the responsive
materials to the City Clerk's Office within the designated time period, and
• Locating and retrieving the responsive records will require one (1) hour or more of
staff time, or the responsive records are one hundred (100} or more pages in length.
Clerk's Office action: Upon receipt of the estimate from the department, the City
Clerk's Office shall prepare a response to the Requestor that: (1) notifies the
Requestor of the estimated costs of responding to the request; (2) requires that the
Requestor pay the estimated costs prior to location and reproduction of the public
records; (3) explains to the Requestor that if actual costs are less than the estimate,
the difference will be refunded to Requestor, and that if actual costs are more than
the estimate, they will be collected prior to provision of the records to Requestor.
The City Clerk's Off ice shall seek attorney review asset forth below prior to sending
the response and estimate to the Requestor.
DEPARTMENT ACTION 3: The department shall immediately inform the City Clerk's
Office and the City Attorney's Office if:
• The department is unable to locate and provide responsive materials to the City
Clerk's Office. The department shall specify whether the requested materials, (a) do
not exist, {b) cannot be located at all, or (c) exist, but are not in the City's custody.
Clerk's Office action: Upon receipt of notice of inability to locate/provide records,
the City Clerk's Office shall prepare a response to the Requestor that 1) notifies the
Requestor of the denial of the request; (2) specifies the reason and statutory grounds
for such denial; and (3) explains to the Requestor the timeline and mechanism to
appeal the denial. The City Clerk's Office shall seek attorney review as set forth
below prior to sending the response and estimate to the Requestor.
DEPARTMENT ACTION 4: The department shall immediately inform the City Clerk's
Office if
• The department needs additional time to locate, copy, and provide responsive
materials to the City Clerk's Office. The Idaho Public Records Act allows the City to
notify the Requestor that additional time is needed to process the request, not to
exceed ten (1 Q) working days from the date the request was received.
Clerk's Office action: Upon receipt of notice that the department needs more time to
locate and provide records, the City Clerk's Office shall, first, prepare a response to
the Requestor (a) notifying the Requestor that more time is needed, and (b) specking
the date by which the request will be granted or denied. Next, the Clerk's O,~ce shall
recalculate the disclosure deadline and inform the department accordingly.
C. City Clerk Seeks City Attorney Review. Before providing the City's response to the
Requestor granting the request, requiring payment of estimated costs, denying the request
in full or in part, extending the period for response, the City Clerk shall request that the
City Attorney or his designee review such response to ensure that no confidential,
privileged, or statutorily exempt document or information is included in the responsive
materials. Upon such request, the City Attorney or his designee shall provide an opinion
regazding whether the information or documents are subject to disclosure under the Idaha
Public Records Act. If any responsive record or any portion thereof is exemp# from
disclosure, the City Attorney or his designee shall redact, or provide an opinion regarding
redaction of, the exempt document, information, ar portions thereof. Final decisions
regarding disclosure of public records shall be made by the City Clerk.
D. City Clerk Responds to Requestor. Following completion of the foregoing process,
and within the three- or ten-day response period, as applicable, the City Clerk's Office
shall do one of the following:
1. Provide all records to the Requestor which aze responsive to the request and subject to
public disclosure under the Idaho Public Records Act;
2. Notify the Requestor of estimated costs of responding to the request, requiring
payment prior to reproduction of the records;
3. Deny the request in full or in part {redaction shall constitute a partial denial),
specifying the statutory basis for such denial and describing the availability, time, and
manner of appeal; or
4. Inform the Requestor that additional time is needed to respond to the request (not to
exceed ten {10) working days from the date the request was received).