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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: \~~~ ~ ~~ ie d~~ J ~` 8~T Weerd ATTEST: ~ r ~~ •\ ~ Fo ~' By: - EAL Jayc olman, City Clerk ~ o~ '9 ~~~: o ~'sr is~ . ~. .~ dgVddllvltllV 111A~~~~ 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).