HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8358 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8358
October 30, 2001
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
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'ns SUBJECT: OPEN RECORDS/PUBLIC INFORMATION RESPONSE
ADMINISTRATION, FY2000-2001
Last year, the Records and Information Management Office and the Law Department revised and improved
the City's procedures for responding to requests for public information in Administrative Regulation D-1.
The receipt, distribution and tracking of virtually all formal requests received by the City under the Texas
Public Information Act have been centralized and streamlined in Records Management, with systematic
review for release performed by Law. Staff from Records Management and Law also provides Citywide
training.
This process was updated: (1) to increase the security and integrity of information being released from the
City and, as always, (2) to make the City more responsive to the public. These objectives are being
accomplished with increasing efficiency, as evidenced below:
1. Administrative Regulation D-1 was pared down to thirteen pages from its original nineteen-page
length, eliminating unnecessary or complicated distinctions among requests.
2. The average response time to requests for public information has decreased and is monitored closely.
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� 3. Approximately 70 contacts from 19 departments received extensive training on both the Act and the
City's procedure during the fiscal year.
While in the previous fiscal year approximately 550 requests for public information were logged, nearly
1,500 requests were logged, distributed, and tracked in FY2000-2001. This almost threefold increase is
attributable to the following:
1. The public and press continue to grow in their awareness of, and interest in, the provisions of the
Public Information Act. This is a clearly quantifiable, statewide trend.
2. Certain requests not previously recognized as naturally falling under the provisions and obligations
of the Act are now being handled with proper attention and care.
3. Some requests for information previously handled casually by departments are now being
centrally logged and tracked. Through the use of facsimile and electronic scanning, this adds virtually
no time to the response. When the Law Department requires review of that information, any delay is
in direct proportion to the extent to which this requirement was neglected in the past, and is far
outweighed by the reduction of legal risk to the City in releasing sensitive or protected information.
Law works with departments to establish lists of information not requiring review and for which
departments may release public information at will. In those cases, logging is primarily a tool for
reporting the volume, nature, and target of public information requests received by the City.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8358
October 30, 2001
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
SUBJECT: OPEN RECORDS/PUBLIC INFORMATION RESPONSE
ADMINISTRATION, FY2000-2001
The following is a breakdown by department of the nearly 1,500 requests received by the City in Fiscal
2000/2001, in descending order. Also is included a total count by month.
Request Volume,
Descending Total By Month
Police 294 19.68% 2000 October 73
Human Resources 230 15.39% !November 59
Development 221 14.79% December 60
IT Solutions 174 11.65%1 2001 January 144
Water 136 9.10% February 156
Code Compliance 98 6.56% March 150
Fire 77 5.15% April 126
Health 60 4.02% May 124
TPW 52 3.48% June 113
Environmental Management 51 141% July 146
Legal 46 3.08% August 172
Human Relations 32 2.14% ISeptember 1 171
City Secretary 18 1.20%
Finance 14 0.94%
Zoo 11 0.74%
Housing 7 0.47%
Engineering 5 0.33%
PACS 5 0.33%
City Services 4 0.27%
Municipal Court 4 0.27%
Planning 3 0.20%
Public Events 3 0.20%
City Manager's Office 2 0.13%
Retirement Office 2 0.13%
Risk Management 2 0.13%
Aviation 1 0.07%
Internal Audit HO..07%
Libra .07°!°
Gary W. Jackson
City Manager
ISSLIED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS