Title
Accept the Annual Report and the Report Concerning Responses to Public Records Act Requests
Body
To: Chair Tilos and Members of the Open Government Commission
Summary
The Sunshine Ordinance provides that the Open Government Commission is to prepare an Annual Public Report to be placed on the City’s website of alleged violations of the Ordinance brought to the attention of the Commission during the previous calendar year and the disposition thereof. In 2020, there were four complaints alleging violations of the Ordinance, three of which were either withdrawn or deemed abandoned and one was heard April 5, 2021. A draft Annual Public Report is attached. In addition, at the February 1, 2021 meeting, the Commission requested a report concerning responses to Public Records Act requests, including more information regarding records requests Citywide. A report (spreadsheet) tracking the requests referred to the City Attorney’s Office is attached, along with another exhibit on Citywide requests.
Background
Section 2-93.6 of the Sunshine Ordinance provides that the Open Government Commission shall prepare an Annual Public Report to be placed on the City’s website and made generally available in printed form of alleged violations of the Sunshine Ordinance brought to the attention of the Commission in the previous calendar year. The Report is to identify the nature of the alleged violation, the relief sought, the disposition thereof and the location of all records relevant to the violation. In 2020, because of concerns that requests to Public Records Act requests were not being responded to in a timely fashion, the Commission requested a report that would show data concerning such requests and the timing of the responses.
Discussion
A. Annual Public Report
In 2020, there were four (4) complaints alleging violations of the Ordinance, which are summarized below:
|
Date of Complaint |
Nature of Alleged Violation |
Relief Sought |
Disposition |
Location of Related Documents |
|
4/28/2020 |
Alleged violation of public meeting access (agenda) |
None specified |
Withdrawn on 5/4/2020 |
N/A |
|
5/12/2020 |
Alleged violation of public records access |
None specified; local law remedies (presumed) |
Hearing held on April 5, 2021 |
Alameda Police Department (APD Arrest Information) |
|
7/8/2020 |
Alleged violation of public records access |
None specified; local law remedies (presumed) |
Withdrawn on 7/9/2020 |
Planning, Building and Transportation (Code Enforcement) |
|
9/29/2020 |
None specified or cognizable |
None specified or cognizable |
Withdrawn on 10/11/2020 |
N/A |
B. Report Concerning Responses to Public Records Act Requests
For 2020, the City Attorney’s Office has prepared a report, in spreadsheet form, showing who made the request, the nature of the request, date the request received, date the request was sent to the City Attorney’s Office, the date the request was acknowledged, the date the responses/documents were provided to the requestor, the number of days between the date the request was received by the City Attorney’s Office and the date of the response, the number of pages reviewed, the number of pages produced, and a brief explanation why the number of pages reviewed and the number of pages produced might not match, for example, some documents were privileged, ongoing investigation, etc.
The data from January 1, 2020 through August 12, 2020 had been provided to the Commission in December 2020 but is provided again on the attached spreadsheet, along with the other requests and responses between August 12, 2020 and December 31, 2020. All the responses since August 12, 2020 have been timely.
If the Commission has any questions concerning the spreadsheet, City staff will be present to respond.
At the February 1, 2021 meeting, the Commission requested information on all requests Citywide. In 2020, there were 685 requests in all departments, excluding Police. The Fire Department denied 9 requests because Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) releases were not submitted. The City Attorney’s Office denied 7 requests because the information sought was privileged, or the case was still open, or they were juvenile records. The Police Department responded to 3,228 requests and did not track the number of requests that were denied. Staff has prepared a supplement report containing the total number of requests Citywide by department, which is attached as Exhibit 3.
In addition, the City has acquired Public Record Request software, which will be launched in June. The software company NextRequest is also used by the cities of Berkeley and Oakland. The software will streamline the records request process and track all such requests.
Recommendation
Staff recommends the Commission accept the attached Annual Public Report and the supplemental report concerning responses to Public Records Act requests.
Respectfully submitted,
Yibin Shen, City Attorney
Elizabeth A. Mackenzie, Chief Assistant City Attorney
John D. Lê, Assistant City Attorney
Exhibit(s):
1. Annual Report
2. Records Requests Responses
3. Requests Citywide