ORDINANCE NO. 2006-09
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PUBLIC RECORDS PROCEDURES
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Public Records Act is to provide the public full access to information concerning the conduct of government, mindful of individuals privacy rights and the desirability of the efficient administration of government; and
WHEREAS, the Public Records Act requires public agencies to adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations to provide full public access to public records, to protect public records from damage or disorganization, and to prevent excessive interference with other essential functions of the agency;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by Skamania County Board of Commissioners that a new Chapter 2.72, titled Public Records Procedures is hereby added to the Skamania County Code Title 2, as follows:
CHAPTER 2.72
PUBLIC RECORDS
2.72.010 Authority and Purpose
2.72.020 Public Records Officer Contact Information
2.72.030 Availability of Public Records
2.72.040 Processing of Public Records Requests - general
2.72.050 Exemptions
2.72.060 Costs of Providing Copies of Public Records
2.72.070 Review of Denials of Public Records
2.72.010 Authority and Purpose
A. The Public Records Act requires each agency to make available for inspection and copying nonexempt public records in accordance with published rules. The act defines public record to include any writing containing information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental or proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or retained by the agency. Each agency is required to set forth for informational purposes every law, in addition to the Public Records Act that exempts or prohibits the disclosure of public records held by that agency.
B. The purpose of these rules is to establish procedures
C. The purpose of the Act is to provide the public full access to information concerning the conduct of government, mindful of individuals’ privacy rights and the desirability of the efficient administration of government. The Act and these rules will be interpreted in favor of disclosure. In carrying out its responsibilities under the Act,
2.72.020 Public Records Officer Contact Information
A. Any person wishing to request access to public records of
Public Records Officer
Information is also available at
B. The public records officer will oversee compliance with the Act but another public records officer or department staff member may process the request. Therefore, these rules will refer to the public records officer or designee. The public records officer or designee and
C. If the person requesting public records knows which office or department has custody or control of the requested records, the request may be made directly to the public records officer designated as follows:
1. Each elected official, with the exception of the Board of County Commissioners, is the public records officer for the offices and departments administered by the elected official, unless otherwise designated by an elected official.
2. The Superior Court Administrator is the public records officer for the Superior Court Judge.
3. The District Court Administrator is the public records officer for the District Court Judge.
4. The Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners is the public records officer for the Board of County Commissioners.
5. Each department head or program manager is the public records officer for the offices and departments under the Board of County Commissioners.
6. Clerks of the following Boards:
§ Boundary Review Board
§ Board of Equalization
§ Civil Service Board
§ Disability Board
D. Each public records officer shall be responsible for implementation of and compliance with this Chapter and the Public Records Act.
2.72.030 Availability of Public Records
A. Public Records shall be inspected at the offices of the elected official or department having custody or control of the records. Public records shall be available for inspection between the hours of
B. The requestor must claim or review the assembled records within thirty-days (30) of
C. Records index. Due to the number of elected offices and departments in the County, various software programs, various locations, and methods of storing public records, Skamania County finds that maintaining an index of all County records is unduly burdensome and would interfere with agency operations.
D. Organization of records.
E. Making a request for public records.
1. Any person wishing to inspect or copy public records of
§ Name of requestor;
§ Address of requestor;
§ Other contact information, including telephone number and any e-mail address;
§ Identification of the public records adequate for the public records officer or designee to locate the records; and
§ The date and time of day of the request.
If the request is for a list of individuals, the requester will be required to sign under penalty of perjury that such information will not be used for commercial purposes.
2. A requestor must request an identifiable record or class of records. An identifiable record is one that is in existence at the time of the request and that agency staff can reasonably locate. An agency is not required to create a public record in response to a request. A request for information in general is not considered a request for an identifiable record.
3. If the requestor wishes to have copies of the records made instead of simply inspecting them, he or she should so indicate and make arrangements to pay for copies of the records.
4. A form is available for use by requestors at the office of the public records officer, each County department, and on line at www.skamaniacounty.org.
2.72.040 Processing of public records requests - general.
A. Providing fullest assistance.
B. Acknowledging receipt of request. Within five business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will do one or more of the following:
1. Make the records available for inspection or copying;
2. If copies are requested and payment of a deposit for the copies, if any, is made or terms of payment are agreed upon, send the copies to the requestor;
3. Provide a reasonable estimate of when records will be available; or
4. If the request is unclear or does not sufficiently identify the requested records, request clarification from the requestor. Such clarification may be requested and provided by telephone or e-mail. The public records officer or designee may revise the estimate of when records will be available; or
5. Deny the request.
C. Consequences of failure to respond. If
D. Protecting rights of others. In the event that the requested records contain information that may affect rights of others and may be exempt from disclosure, the public records officer or designee may, prior to providing the records, give notice to such others whose rights may be affected by the disclosure. Such notice should be given so as to make it possible for 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 will include a copy of the request.
E. Records exempt from disclosure. Some records are exempt from disclosure in whole or in part. If
F. Providing copies of records. After inspection is complete, the public records officer or designee shall make the requested copies or arrange for copying.
G. Providing records in installments. When the request is for a large number of records, the public records officer or designee will 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 way. If, within thirty days, the requestor fails to inspect the entire set of records or one or more of the installments, the public records officer or designee may stop searching for the remaining records and close the request.
H. Completion of inspection. When the inspection of the requested records is complete and all requested copies are provided, the public records officer or designee will indicate that