The Public Records Request Life Cycle
An overview of a public record request
The First Step — Searching
For many, submitting a public records request is a last resort when attempting to acquire a record created by the government. At first, it is somewhat daunting to navigate how we can submit a request. In the state of Washington, by law, you can request a record in person, by mail, email, fax, telephone, or through an online portal. For many cities, counties, and states, an online portal is a useful tool that allows for the quick dissemination of information by way of a public records request.
Some of these agencies have created an Open Data Portal that publishes many datasets that are often requested by the public. Before making any request, it is highly advantageous to seek out if your city, county, or state has an Open Data Portal. If they do, check to see if the information you want is available and if not, some portals will have a link to the Public Records Request Center that can point you in the right direction.
Using the City of Seattle as our example, we first encounter a helpful index of “Types of Commonly Requested Records.” Each category contains a wealth of information about the types of records. Including a description, the department where they can be found, and if other information is available online.
Submitting a Request
If the record you seek still eludes you, submitting a request via the online portal is one way to go about getting what you need. The City of Seattle’s Public Records Request Center gives us a list of all agencies to select from with helpful descriptions — like the useful indexing page previously. [Insert pic of agency list] Once an agency is selected — like many online portals — an account must be created to submit a request. With a personal account created, you may submit your request by filling out a description and uploading additional documents if necessary, as well as optionally providing the type of requester.
The Waiting Game — Responses & Obtaining Records
In the state of Washington and under the Public Records Act, agencies are required to respond to your request within five business days by either: providing the records, acknowledging your request and giving an estimate of how long it will take to respond, a clarification of the request, or a denial of the request in writing with the reasons for the denial. If the request is fulfilled, there may not be a fee to inspect the item, but some agencies may charge for the copying of the records. In the case of the City of Seattle, the fee structure is based on the delivery methods and materials (CDs, paper, flash drive).
Why is this important?
The process of finding, collecting, redacting (if necessary), and copying information for these requests and the costs incurred by this process is a heavy burden to some cities, counties, and states. The fees related to these requests do not cover the wages of the people processing the requests. According to a 2016 Performance Audit by the Washington State Auditor’s Office, “fulfilling public records requests cost Washington’s state and local governments more than $60 million in the most recent year.” Several factors contribute to this problem, but an attempt to quell the tide of public records request lies in the effort to disclose information through Open Data Portals proactively.
Looking Ahead — Our Current Project
Here at the Open Data Literacy project, my partner, Kevin McCraney and I are attempting to find trends in requests to help agencies understand which datasets are being frequently requested, and to see if a proactive disclosure of this information can lessen the frequency of public records requests. We are also looking at a way to support an Open Data Alliance between people in government agencies that can continue to advocate for Open Data.
