HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. R2022-13 RESOLUTION NO. R2022-13
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS,
REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 98-40 ADOPTED ON DECEMBER 7, 1998,
ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC INFORMATION (OPEN RECORDS) DISCLOSURE POLICY
FOR THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD; ADOPTING AN UPDATE PUBLIC INFORMATION
POLICY; REPEALING ALL RESOLUTIONS OR PARTS OF RESOLUTIONS
INCONSISTENT OR IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY
PROVIDNIG;AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on December 7, 1998, the City Council of the City of Friendswood adopted a public
information(open records)disclosure policy for the City of Friendswood;and
WHEREAS such policy provided for a systematic and centralized process for processing public
information requests;and
WHEREAS, the proposed policy updates the 1998 policy based upon new laws, processes and
technologies and renews the City's commitment to government transparency;NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD, STATE OF
TEXAS:
Section 1. The City Council finds and determines that the recitals contained hereinabove are true
and correct; and
Section 2. The City Council hereby repeals Resolution No. 98-40 adopted by the City Council on
December 7, 1998,which established a public information(open records)policy for the City of Friendswood;
and
Section 3. The City Council hereby adopts the public information policy,which is attached hereto
as Exhibit"A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes.
Section 4. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict or inconsistent with this resolution are
hereby expressly repealed.
Section 5. That in the event any clause phrase, provision, sentence, or part of this resolution or the
application of the same to any person or circumstances shall for any reason be adjudged invalid or held
unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect, impair, or invalidate this resolution as a
whole or any part or provision hereof other than the part declared to be invalid or unconstitutional; and the City
Council of the City of Friendswood, Texas, declares that it would have passed each and every part of the same
notwithstanding the omission of any such part thus declared to be invalid or unconstitutional, whether there be
one or more parts.
Section 6. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage and approval.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of
Friendswood on this the 7'day of March,2022. r
MI F MAN, ayor
AT ST:
FFdENps
O �
LETICIA BRYSCH, Secretary O
U s
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
OF
KAREN HORNER,City Attorney
HACity Council\Resolutions\2022\04-04-2022\Public Information Policy.docx
EXHIBIT"A"
CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD
PUBLIC INFORMATION POLICY
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to reflect the City's commitment to the Texas Public
Information Act(the"Act"or the"PIA") and to establish guidelines to ensure that,unless
otherwise expressly provided by law, information in the possession of and pertaining to
the operation of the City is available to the public through a systematic and centralized
process.
2. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS AND OTHERS
2.1 The City Secretary is designated as the Public Information Officer("PIO") for the
City of Friendswood and shall be the authority to release records in accordance with
the PIA.
2.2 The Municipal Court Administrator shall be the City's authority for releasing court
records in accordance with the PIA, rules adopted by the Texas Supreme Court,
Rule 12 of the Rules of Judicial Administration,and other applicable law.
2.3 The City Secretary may designate one or more employees to serve as designated
public information officers ("PIO-Ds") to assist in the processing of public
information requests.
2.4 Each City department shall designate an employee to serve as a liaison ("PI-L")to
the PIO with regard to requests for public information held or generated by their
department. The PI-L should be familiar with the records created and/or maintained
by the department.
2.5 Each department shall promptly notify the City Attorney and the City Secretary of
such designation or of any change in a designation.
2.6 Each PIO, PIO-D, and PI-L shall complete the training referenced in the Act, and
available on the Attorney General's website, not later than 30 days after the date
the PIO, PIO-D or PI-L assumes his/her duties. Certificates reflecting the
completed training shall be maintained on file at the City Secretary's Office. In
addition,the PIO may require additional periodic trainings for all persons involved
with public information requests under the PIA.
3. GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER,
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER DESIGNEE AND PUBLIC INFORMATION
LIAISON
3.1 The PIO and each PIO-D shall:
�.I.I Ensure that all incoming deliveries, mail, a-mails to the designated PIR
email address of records@friendswood.com and faxes to the designated PIR
fax of 281-482-1634 are checked regularly, at least daily, to ensure that
requests for public information are processed immediately.
3.1.2 Promptly review,record, and address all requests for public information.
3.1.3 Contact the requestor to seek clarification of unclear requests and/or the
narrowing of broad requests.
3.1.4 Coordinate the locating and gathering of responses to requests for public
information.
3.1.5 Consult with the City Attorney's Office as needed to determine whether
information should be withheld or disclosed.
3.1.6 Provide or make available for public inspection or reproduction information
not exempted from disclosure, assess appropriate cost charges, and protect
public information from deterioration, alteration, mutilation, loss or
unlawful removal.
3.1.7 Process all requests for public information promptly,uniformly and without
regard to the position or occupation of the requestor, the person on whose
behalf the request is made,or the status of the individual as a member of the
media.
3.2 Upon receipt of a request for public information, a PIO or PIO-D shall promptly:
3.2.1 Record the date and time the request was received and enter the request into
the City's Electronic Public Information Request Program.
3.2.2 Determine whether clarifications or modifications of the request should be
considered and contact the requestor.
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3.2.3 Notify the PI-L of each department that may potentially have documents
responsive to the request and enter a task for each in the City's Electronic
Public Information Request Program.
3.2.4 Each PIO-D and PI-L shall notify the PIO of any requests that may have
public relations significance.
3.2.5 Follow up with PI-Ls to assure that requested information is delivered
within 3 business days to the PIO or PIO-D processing the request.
3.2.6 Consult with the PIO and the City Attorney's Office if there are any
questions on whether certain information should be disclosed or withheld.
If an Attorney General opinion will be requested, forward the request and
all documents to the PIO immediately.
3.2.7 Employees, including the PIO and PIO-D, may NOT inquire into the
purpose for which the requested information will be used or make other
inquiry of a requestor, except as provided by section 5.1.3 of this policy.
3.3 Upon receiving notification from the PIO or a PIO-D that a request for department
records has been made,the PI-L shall:
3.3.1 Immediately locate responsive records,if any exist,and forward the records
to the PIO or PIO-D handling the request within three (3)business days.
3.3.2 Notify the PIO or PIO-D if the records cannot be produced within three(3)
business days and the reasons,therefore.
3.3.3 When sending the records to the PIO or PIO-D,also send recommendations
as to whether any information may need redaction and/or withholding under
the PIA.
4. RECEIVING AND PROCESSING REQUESTS
4.1 The Texas Public Information Act gives the public the right to request access to
government information. It shall be the policy of the City of Friendswood to
comply with the provisions of the PIA. The City shall also strive to provide
excellent customer service in dealing with requests for public information.
4.2 All public information requests must be in writing and must be filtered through the
PIO and/or PIO-D. Requests may be submitted to the PIO
➢ via the City's online public information request system,
➢ by ground mail,
➢ by e-mail to recordsgfriendswood.com,
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➢ by fax to 482-1634, or
➢ in person at the Police Department for police records or at City Hall.
If another department receives a Public Information ("PI") request, the requestor
must be directed to send the request to the PIO via one of the above-referenced
methods.
4.3 A request by a City employee or official in his/her official capacity and for official
city business is generally not considered a request for public information and is not
subject to this policy. If in doubt,the PIO and/or the City Attorney's Office should
be consulted.
4.4 Unless otherwise provided by the City Attorney's Office, a request for information
by a Texas State agency (including a state university) or political subdivision of
this state shall not be considered a request for public information under this policy
and shall be treated as an intergovernmental transfer.
4.5 Unless otherwise provided by the City Attorney's Office, a request for public
information by a federal agency shall be processed in accordance with this policy
(in the same way as a general request for information).
4.6 If the requested information is copyrighted, the PIO or PIO-D shall allow the
records to be inspected, but shall not furnish copies or use any City equipment or
resources to make copies or duplicate in any way copyrighted records.
4.7 All PI-Ls should make a good-faith effort to provide responsive records that the
department holds and not read requests in an overly technical manner. A
department is not required to create a new record if none exists. However, in
instances where a request asks for documents or information that are not organized
or retrievable by the type of information or in the manner that is requested, and the
department could provide this information by making a simple computer search or
other basic task, the PI-L should make such an effort to produce the information.
But if providing the information will require extensive research or considerable
manipulation of data, the department is under no obligation to take such action.
Instead, the PIO or PIO-D should be notified. The PIO or PIO-D will notify the
requestor of the format in which the information is currently available and include
a cost estimate for providing the information in the format that meets the requestor's
preference. All correspondence with requestors will be in written format via email
communication and/or certified mail.
4.8 All information that is collected, assembled, or maintained by or for the City that
is deemed public information under the PIA. Records shall be made available for
public by appointment during normal business hours. Normal business hours are
Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m.to 5:30 p.m.,and Fridays from 8:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m., except for City-observed holidays.
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4.9 The exception to requests being submitted in writing is when they are for
routine/informal inquiries by the public regarding readily available City
information. The City is not required to comply with standing requests for
documents that will be created in the future.
4.10 It is the policy of the City that when a copy is requested, a City employee shall
make the copies on behalf of the requestor. If a certain media is preferred(cassette
tape, diskette, CD, etc.), it is the policy of the City to use its own supplies. If
inspection of information is desired, the requestor must complete the examination
of the information not later than the 10t' business day after it is made available to
the person.
4.11 The inspection time may be extended if a requestor files a written request with the
PIO. Notation of examination dates and requestor signature needs to be recorded
on the Public Information Request Form. Original records may not be removed
from the offices of the City. Requestors allowed to review original records must
do so under the supervision of a City employee as directed by the City Secretary.
Examination of information may be interrupted by the department contact if the
information is needed for use by the City.
4.12 Upon receiving the requested records, the City Secretary will review and approve
same before contacting the requestor that their request has been completed and is
available for review and/or purchase.
4.13 Receipt of records to the requestor will be documented. If the requestor prefers the
request to be mailed, the cost associated with this request must be paid prior to
releasing the information.
4.14 If the request is not available at this time (due to being in active use, in storage, or
cannot be provided within ten days), but will be available on a day/time specified
in letter, which is within a reasonable time, the PIO or PIO-D will inform the
requestor that the request will be available on a specified day/time in written format
via email and/or certified mail.
4.15 Once the PIO or PIO-D receives all forms and documentation, the following steps
will be taken to obtain an Attorney General's (the"AG")ruling, if necessary.
4.15.1 The requestor is sent a letter via email and certified mail informing him/her
that the request is being forwarded to the AG office for an official ruling of
disclosure.
4.15.2 The PIO or PIO-D will submit the AG's opinion request to the AG's office
via certified mail.
4.15.3 The requestor is provided a copy of the letter sent to the AG office without
attachments via email and certified mail.
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4.15.4 Third parties with proprietary interest under §552.110 of the Texas
Government Code are provided a copy of the letter sent to the AG office,
with copies of the records subject to their proprietary interest.
4.15.5 Once the AG has made a ruling, the requestor must be notified as soon as
possible by email and certified mail if the record(s)can be released. If they
are to be withheld,no further action to the requestor is necessary. The letter
must indicate when the requestor may come by to pick up the information.
4.15.6 For third parties subject to an AG under§552.110,the City shall submit the
AG opinion to the third-party in writing.
5. CHARGES AND WAIVERS
5.1 The City Secretary's Office will charge all cost(s) associated with public
information request. No other department, with the exception of the Police
Department and the Municipal Court is authorized to take payments associated with
public information request(s).
5.2 Charges for inspection and copying public records shall be in accordance with the
current guidelines established by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission
rules as set out in the Texas Administrative Code,or other applicable law. The City
reserves the right to waive charges.
5.3 The City shall charge for requests that require large amounts of employee or
personnel time in accordance with Ordinance No. 218-26 and Section 552.275 of
the Act.
6. ROUTINEANFORMAL REQUESTS
6.1 For the benefit of the public,the City provides access to many types of information
on its website located at www.friendswood.com.
6.2 As a courtesy, City employees should inform requestors when the information is
available on the City's website. (Such notification will not satisfy a formal request
for information under the PIA.) City employees may respond to verbal requests for
information that are obviously public in nature and do not require a formal public
information request. Such information may include the following types of
documents:
a. Directory,
b. Meeting Agendas and Minutes,
c. Maps and Directions,
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d. Budgets and Reports, and/or
e. City Publications/Newsletters.
6.3 The City may require the requestor to submit a written request especially if the
verbal request is unclear, cannot be handled at that moment, or if the requestor is
seeking a large amount of readily available information.
7. PUBLIC INFORMATION SIGN AND HANDBOOK
7.1 The PIO shall prominently display a sign in the form approved by the Attorney
General that contains the basic information about the rights of a requestor, the
responsibilities of the City, and the procedures for inspecting or obtaining a copy
of public information.
7.2 Each PI-L is encouraged to become familiar with the most current Public
Information Handbook,which is available on the Texas Attorney General's website
at www.oag.state.tx.us or by calling the Attorney General's office at (877) 673-
6839 (877-OPEN TX).
8. MISCELLANEOUS
All inquiries regarding the policy and rules for dealing with Public Information requests
should be directed to the City Secretary. Any matters or issues concerning requests for
public information not address by this policy shall be governed by the provisions of the
PIA and any other applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
9. PENALTIES
9.1 Failure to comply with the provision of the Public Information Act may subject the
City and individual employees to criminal and civil penalties. Actions that may be
considered violations of the Act include, but are not limited to, the willful
destruction, mutilation, removal without permission, or alteration of public
information; the failure or refusal to provide access to or copies of public
information; and the intentional disclosure of information considered confidential
under the Act.
9.2 In addition to the penalties in 11.1, any employee found in violation of the Act or
this policy may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination
from employment.
10. ADMINISTRATIVE RULES
The City Manager is hereby authorized to promulgate administrative rules consistent with
the Act and this policy for the uniform and consistent processing of all City public
information requests.
HAPublic Information\PIA Policy\Public Information Policy-Draft Jan 2022.docx
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