County works to track public record requests

Jana Mathia, Gazette Reporter | Jan 25, 20180

Whitman County commissioners and staff are working on installing a log to track data about public records requests.

The last 2017 legislative session made changes in public records laws, one of which requires counties to track when requests are received, and how long it takes to process them. Agencies that spend $100,000 or more in responding to public requests are required to report it back to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC).

“I don’t think we’ll get close to that threshold,” predicted Commissioner Michael Largent.

He said the main purpose in tracking the requests is to make sure the county is in compliance with the new laws. Commissioners have also talked about how it will help cut down on abuse of the system. There have been cases of one person submitting multiple records requests to different departments, and if there is any fumbling on the part of the county, suing and getting paid.

“There is a certain fine if you fumble the ball, even if you have the best of intentions,” Largent noted. “We don’t want to be the one fumbling.”

The new system being put in place will keep track of who has submitted requests to what departments, when and other basic information. That way, if the same request goes to multiple departments, they can coordinate the response so efforts are not duplicated.

“We can’t stop the abuse,” Largent said.

The new public request laws require agencies to respond within five days with either an answer, request for clarification or a designated time as to when the reply will be made. The agencies can also charge for actual costs, statutory default fees or an alternative flat fee based on a set table in fulfilling the requests.

Largent noted it is a delicate balance between making the public records accessible, viable and useful and avoiding abuse.

“We want to make sure people get what they ask for,” he said.

The logging system will not be responsible for responding to individual public records requests, only tracking them and their progress.

Commissioner Dean Kinzer started the ball rolling on the logging effort. Now the county is setting up the format, ironing out organizational issues and working with the prosecutor.