A. Providing Access and Assistance. This chapter identifies how the city will provide full access to public records, protect public records from damage or disorganization, prevent excessive interference with other essential city functions, provide fullest assistance to requestors, and provide the timeliest possible action on public records requests. The public records officer will provide all assistance necessary to help requestors locate responsive public records, as long as such assistance does not unreasonably disrupt the city’s daily operations.

B. Order of Processing Requests. The public records officer will process requests in the order allowing the most requests to be processed in the most efficient manner.

C. Acknowledging and Fulfilling Requests. Within five business days of receipt of a request, the public records officer shall do one or more of the following:

D. Clarification of Request. If the requestor fails to respond to the public records officer’s request to clarify the request, and the entire request is unclear, the city need not respond to the request. However, the city shall respond to those portions of the request that are clear.

E. Additional Time to Respond. The city will have additional time to respond to a request based upon the need to clarify the intent of the request, to locate and assemble the information requested, to notify third persons or agencies affected by the request, or to determine whether any of the information requested is exempt and a denial as to all or part of the request is necessary.

F. Failure to Respond. If the public records officer does not respond to the request in writing within five business days of receipt of the request, the requestor should contact the public records officer to determine the reason for the failure to respond.

G. Third Party Notice. If the requested public records contain information that may affect the rights of others and may be exempt from disclosure, the public records officer may, prior to providing the public records, give notice to such others whose rights may be affected by the disclosure. This notice will allow those other persons to contact the requestor and ask him or her to revise the request, or, if necessary, seek an order from a court to prevent or limit the disclosure. The notice to the affected persons shall include a copy of the request.

H. Denials of Requests – Judicial Review. The public records officer’s denial of a request will be in writing and will include the specific reasons for the denial. Prior to any denial, the public records officer must consult with the city attorney or a member of the city attorney’s law firm. The denial will become final at the end of the second business day following the denial and will constitute final city action for purposes of judicial review. Legal action challenging the city’s full or partial denial must be filed by the requestor within one year of the city’s denial or the last production of a record on a partial or installment basis, pursuant to RCW 42.56.550.

I. BOT Requests. The public records officer may deny a “BOT” request that is one of multiple requests from the requestor to the city with a twenty-four-hour period, if the public records officer determines that responding to the multiple requests would cause excessive interference with other essential functions of the city. A “BOT” request is a request for public records that the public records officer reasonably believes was automatically generated by a computer program or script.

J. Redaction. Some public records are exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part. If the public records officer believes that a public record or portion thereof is exempt from disclosure and should be withheld, the public records officer will state the specific exemption and provide a brief explanation of why the public record or portion thereof is being withheld. If only a portion of a public record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, the public records officer will redact the exempt portions, provide the non-exempt portions, and indicate to the requestor why the redacted portions of the public record are being withheld.

K. Access to and Preserving Records. The public records officer shall promptly provide space to inspect public records. No member of the public may remove public records from the viewing area or disassemble or alter any public record. The requestor shall indicate which public records the requestor wishes to have copied, using a mutually agreed upon nonpermanent method of marking the desired public record. If the requestor cannot access the public records made available on the city’s website, the city must provide copies of the public record or allow the requestor to view the public records using a city computer designated for the public inspection of public records. If a request is made when a public record exists but is scheduled for destruction in the near future, the city shall retain possession of the public record, and will not destroy or erase the public record until the request is resolved.

L. Consequences of Failure to Review Request. The requestor or a representative of the requestor must claim or review the assembled public records within thirty days of the public record officer’s notification to the requestor that the public records are available for inspection or copying. The public records officer shall provide a written notice to the requestor of this thirty-day requirement and of the need to contact the city to make arrangements to claim or review the public records. If the requestor or a representative of the requestor fails to claim or review the public records within the thirty-day period or make other arrangements, the city may close the request and refile the assembled public records.

M. Copying Request. After inspection is complete, the public records officer shall make the requested copies or arrange for copying.

N. Installments. If the request is for a large number of public records, the public records officer may provide access for inspection and copying in installments, if the public records officer reasonably determines that it would be practical to provide the public records in that way. If within thirty days the requestor fails to inspect the entire set of public records or one or more of the installments, the city shall no longer be obligated to fulfill the balance of the request, and the public records officer will stop searching for the remaining public records and close the request.

O. Completion of Search. When the inspection of the requested public records is complete and all requested copies are provided, the public records officer shall notify the requestor in writing that the city has completed a diligent search for the requested public records and made any located nonexempt public records available for inspection or copying, and that the public records request is closed, and that the requestor should contact the public records officer promptly if the requestor believes additional responsive public records have not been provided.

P. Closing Request. When the requestor either withdraws the request or fails to fulfill the requestor’s obligations to inspect the public records or pay the deposit or final payment for the requested copies, the public records officer shall close the request and advise the requestor in writing that the city has closed the request.

Q. Later Discovered Records. If, after the public records officer has informed the requestor that it has provided all available public records, the city becomes aware of additional public records existing at the time of the request that are responsive to the request, the public records officer shall promptly inform the requestor in writing of the additional public records and make them available for processing on an expedited basis.

R. Consequence of Disclosing Record in Error. The city, and its officials, officers, employees, and agents are not liable for loss or damage based on release of a public record if the city official, officer, employee, or agent acted in good faith in attempting to comply with the PRA.

S. No Duty to Create Records. The city is not obligated to create a new public record to satisfy a public records request; however, the city may, in its discretion, create such a new public record to fulfill the request where it may be easier for the city to create a public record responsive to the request than to collect and make available voluminous public records that contain small pieces of information responsive to the request.

T. No Duty to Supplement Responses. The city is not obligated to hold current public records requests open to respond to requests for city public records that may be created in the future. If a public record is created or comes into the possession of the city after a request is received by the city, it is not responsive to the request and will not be provided. A new request must be made to obtain later-created public records. (Ord. 1156-18 § 1).