Public Records Requests Procedure (GA-29, Rev.8) (Attachments)City of Delray
Beach
ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL
SUBJECT: GENERAL
ADMINISTRATION
NUMBER
GA-29
SUPERSEDES GA-29, Rev. 7
Dated
October 21, 2013
Public Records Requests
Procedure
REVISIONS EFFECTIVE DATE: PAGE 1 OF 5
8 12/10/18
APPROVED BY: Mark R.
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GA-29.0 Purpose:
To establish policies and procedures for responding to requests for City public records that are subject to disclosure and to establish a schedule offees for providing copies of such records as permitted by Florida Statutes.
GA-29.1 Policy and Procedure:
A.All City records are considered public records unless they are specifically exempt or confidential from disclosure under Florida State Statutes. All public records shall be open for inspection and copying at reasonable times, except as provided by Florida Statutes Chapter 119 or other applicable law.
B.The City Clerk is the official custodian of all public records and will process all requests for public records with the following exceptions:
1.The Police Department administers criminal justice records and will process all requests for criminal justice records through the Police Public Records Portal.
2.The Human Resources Department administers personnel records and will process all requests for those records.
3.The City Attorney's Office administers litigation records and will processall requests for those records.
4.Routine requests for Department records that can be completed within 20 minutes or less will be processed by the Department's Records Custodian.
C.Beginning October 1, 2018, the City will accept requests for records through its
online Public Records Portal. The record can be received by mail, electronic email,
or in person. Records requests shall be processed promptly and responded to in a
reasonable manner.
D.In responding to public records requests, the City has a responsibility to provide records except those that are confidential/or exempt from disclosure by law. If records are determined to be confidential or exempt, a written statement providing the statutory basis for denying access to the record must be provided. The City does not have an obligation to create records that do not already exist nor provide information from its records.
SUBJECT: Public Records Requests Procedure
NUMBER: GA-29, Rev. 7
PAGE: 2
E.Records exempt from disclosure as provided by Florida Statute Section
119.071 include:
1.Social security numbers1 of all current and former City employees;
2.Agency Personnel Information. The home addresses, telephone
numbers2, dates of birth and photographs of active, current or former
personnel referenced below; the names, home addresses, telephone
numbers, photographs, dates of birth, and places of employment of their
spouses and children; the names and locations of schools and day care
facilities attended by the children of such personnel:
a.Sworn or Civilian Law Enforcement
b.Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians or Paramedics
certified under Chapter 401
c.Human Resource, Labor Relations, or Employee Relations
Directors, Assistant Directors, Managers or Assistant Managers
whose duties include hiring and firing employees, labor contract
negotiation, administration or other personnel-related duties
d.Code Enforcement Officers
e.Personnel employed in the City's Internal Audit Department
3.Medical records unless requested by a legal representative of the employee or
court order;
4.Personal identifying information of a dependent child of a current or former
employee, which dependent child is insured by a City group insurance plan;
5.Information revealing undercover personnel of the City;
6.Identity of a victim of child abuse and/or sex crimes (Chapter 794, F. S.)
7.Juvenile Offender records.
a.Discrimination complaints until a finding is made relating to probable cause,
the investigation becomes inactive or the complaint or other record is made
part of the official record of any hearing or court proceeding.
9.Examination questions and answer sheets of examinations administeredby a governmental agency for the purpose of licensure, certification or
employment are exempt. However, a person who has taken such
an examination has the right to review his or her own completed
examination.
1 There are limited circumstances whereby the social security number of current and former City employees may be disclosed by the City. Please refer to section 119.071(4)(a)(2)(a)-(c), Florida Statutes or contact the City Attorney's Office. 2 "Telephone numbers" include home telephone numbers, personal cellular telephone numbers, personal pager telephone
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SUBJECT: Public Records Requests Procedure
NUMBER: GA-29, Rev. 7
PAGE: 3
10. Sealed bids, proposals, or replies received by the City pursuant to a
competitive solicitation until such time as the City provides notice of an
intended decision or until 30 days after opening the bids, proposals or
final replies, whichever is earlier.
11. Qualifying attorney records prepared for litigation or administrative
proceedings.
12. Data Processing software obtained by the City under a licensing
agreement that prohibits its disclosure and which software is a trade
secret and agency-produced data processing software that is sensitive.
13. U. S. Census Bureau Information.
14. Active criminal intelligence and criminal investigative information.
15. Identifying information of victims of crimes, including fingerprints.
16. Information or plans that can jeopardize the security of public buildings
including construction plans, floor plans, and types of security systems.
17. Internal Affairs investigations are confidential and exempt until the
investigation ceases to be active or until the City provides written notice to
the employee who is the subject of the complaint that the City has concluded
the investigation with either (a) a finding not to proceed with disciplinary
action or charges or (b) a finding to proceed with disciplinary action or file
charges.
18. Bank account and debit, charge, and credit card numbers held by the
City.
19. Identity and personal information of camp and after-school program
participants.
NOTE: For the most current list of all exemptions, please refer to section 119.071, Florida
Statutes, or contact the City Attorney's Office.
Procedure:
A. General Processing of Requests for Public Records
1. Requests for public records shall be directed to the City Clerk's Office
and become part of the public records request portal. If the City
Clerk's Office coordinated the request, the completed information will
be returned to the City Clerk's Office for processing.
SUBJECT:
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B.
Public Records Requests Procedure
GA-29, Rev. 7
4
2. Requests for public records do not have to be in writing; however,
sufficient information must be provided by the requestor in order to
properly respond to the request. All Public Records Requests must
go through the public records request portal. An anonymous request
can be entered however, it will be the responsibility of the requester to
keep the tracking number assigned to their request in order to track the
progress of the request. Staff has no ability to contact an anonymous
requester. A Public Records Request Form (attachment A) is
provided in case a requestor prefers to complete a written request for
clarity and/or for aiding the Records Custodian in processing the
request.
3. When the nature or volume of public records requested to be
inspected, examined or copied requires extensive use of information
technology resources and/or clerical or supervisory assistance by City
personnel greater than 20 minutes, this shall constitute an
extraordinary request and shall be charged a service charge at a rate
equal to each responding staff member's hourly rate of total
compensation.
a. For extensive requests, the City Clerk shall collect half the
service charge to fulfill the records request and the fee for
duplication in advance. Upon completion of the effort, the City
Clerk shall collect the remaining balance prior to delivery of the
public record.
b. If a requester has overdue or unpaid fees, the City Clerk's Office
shall not process any further requests until all fees past-due
have been paid in full. Notice to the requester shall be made in
writing.
4. Each Department's Records Custodian shall ascertain whether the
request is for review of records and/or copies of records.
Request for Inspection of Public Records
1. If the requested records are scanned, the Records Custodian or City
Clerk shall review the records and redact all information that is exempt
from public disclosure pursuant to this policy. The Records Custodian
or the City Clerk shall set the records for review in the LaserFiche
Public Access folder and show the requestor how to navigate the file.
2. If the requested records are not scanned, the Records Custodian or
City Clerk shall review the records and all information that is exempt
from public view shall be manually redacted. The records will be
provided to the requestor to review in a public building under the
supervision of the Records Custodian or City Clerk.
SUBJECT:
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C.
Public Records Requests Procedure
GA-29, Rev. 7
5
Request for copies of Public Records
1. The Records Custodian or City Clerk shall review the records and
determine the estimated cost for researching and copying based on the
fee schedule established herein.
Schedule of Fees
Document Fee
Medium Type Size/Time
Hard Copy LJ p to 11 " X 1 7" $0.15 per page/one-sided
Hard Copy Up to 11" x 17" $0.20 per page/two-sided
Microfiche Page $.25 per page
Hard Copy - B&W Plans 24"x36" $1 .50 per page
Hard Copy - B&W Plans 30"x42" $2 .25 per page
Hard Copy - Color Plans 24"x36" $6.00 per page
Hard Copy - Color Plans 30"x42" $9.00 per page
Certification of N/A $1.00 per copy
Documents
Thumb Drive N/A $5.00 per thumb drive
All other copies N/A Actual cost of duplication
Beyond 20 minutes Employee's labor cost
*Plans are sent out to Delray Blueprint, Inc. for duplication since they cannot be
duplicated by staff; therefore, prices may be subject to change.
Revised 12/10/18
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST FORM
CITY OF DELRAY BEACH
100 NW 1ST AVENUE, DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA 33444
PHONE: 561 243-7051 – FAX: 561 243-3774
EMAIL: publicrecordsrequest@mydelraybeach.com
*Please Note: Section 119.07(1)(a) of the Florida Statutes makes clear that an agency is not
authorized to require a request for records be made in writing. Furthermore, any requestor
may remain anonymous and need not disclose name, address, telephone number or similar
identifying information prior to receiving copies of public records.*
**You are not required to fill out this form. Office personnel are required to complete this form, if you do not choose to do so.**
Today’s Date:__________________________________________________________________
Requestor’s Name:_____________________________________________________________
Phone:___________________________ E-mail:_____________________________________
Preferred Method of Contact:____________________________________________________
Above information is optional and not required by requestor.
Please specify information needed (Including applicable timeframes if any):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Types of Requests (Check if applicable):
Agenda Item ( )
Agreement ( )
CD/DVD/Thumb Drive ( )
Commission Meeting Summary ( )
Municipal Code Section ( )
Ordinance/Resolution ( )
Other ( )
ATTACHMENT A
Revised 12/10/18
SCHEDULE OF FEES
Medium Type Document Size/Time Fee
Hard copy Up to 11” x 17” $0.15 per page/one-sided
Hard copy Up to 11” x 17” $0.20 per page/two-sided
Microfiche Page $0.25 per page
*Hard copy-B&W Plans 24” x 36” $1.50 per page
*Hard copy-B&W Plans 30” x 42” $2.25 per page
*Hard copy-Color Plans 24” x 36” $6.00 per page
*Hard copy-Color Plans 30” x 42” $9.00 per page
Certification of Documents N/A $1.00 per copy
CD, DVD, Thumb Drive N/A $5.00 each
All other copies N/A Actual cost of duplication
Beyond 20 minutes Employee’s labor cost
*Plans are sent out to Delray Blueprint, Inc. for duplication since they cannot be duplicated by
staff; therefore, prices may be subject to change.
Public Records Fees:
Number of Copies: ___________________ Cost of Duplication:___________________
Postage (If applicable):________________ TOTAL COST:________________________
Review of specific records can be done without charge unless the nature or volume of the
material requested requires extensive clerical or supervisory assistance. If extensive
assistance is necessary, there will be a special service charge. Inspection of records can be
requested by making an appointment.
Pursuant to Chapter 119, F.S., a request for copies of records shall be furnished upon payment
of the fee prescribed by law. There will be a service fee charge (employee labor cost) for any
searching and copying of documents that extends beyond twenty (20) minutes connected to
fulfilling your public records request.
CITY’S RECORDS REQUEST POLICIES:
Official Use Only:
Department(s) to Compile Request:___________________________ Date Compiled:____________
Completed By:__________________________ Records Produced/Comments__________________
Date Forwarded to City Clerk (if applicable):______________________
Date Copies were mailed OR date Requestor notified to pick up records:________________________
Notified by:_____________
Records Released By:_____________________________________________ Date:______________
Records Released To:_____________________________________________ Date:______________