HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8444 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8444
October 29, 2002
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
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SUBJECT: OPEN RECORDS/PUBLIC INFORMATION RESPONSE
ADMINISTRATION, FY2001- 2002
The purpose of this report is to provide a status and growth analysis of subject program. The City's
procedures for responding to requests for public information according to the terms of the Texas Public
Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552) are articulated in Administrative Directive D-1.
The Records and Information Management Office performs the receipt, distribution, and tracking of
virtually all formal requests received by the City, with systematic review for release performed by the
Law Department. Staff from Records Management and Law also provides Citywide training on the
concepts and requirements of the Act, The dual program mission is to ensure the security and integrity
of information being released from the City and to make the City more responsive to the public.
The volume of requests for public information received by the City continues to grow dramatically, up
175 % from last fiscal year. There are three primary reasons for this.
fl 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. In the event that the Law department requests 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 infonnation. Law is working with departments to establish lists of information not
requiring review and for which departments release public information at will. In those cases,
logging is then primarily a tool for reporting the volume, nature, and target of public information
requests received by the City, which was not previously carried out.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8444
October 29, 2002
r"r To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2 of 2
f4173 SUBJECT: OPEN RECORDS/PUBLIC INFORMATION RESPONSE
ADMINISTRATION, FY2001- 2002
The following is a breakdown of departmental public information requests received by the City in Fiscal
2001/2002, with rounded percentages. Also included are monthly, average, and comparative totals:
Request Volume Totals by Month Daily Avg.
IT Solutions (PD) 786 30% 2001 October 197 8.6 day
Police 382 15% November 192 9.6 day
Human Resources 337 13% December 133 6.6 day
Development 263 10% 2002 January 218 10.4 day
Environmental Mgt. 244 9% February 207 10.3 day
Water 215 8% March 228 10.8 day
Fire 173 7% April 252 11.4 day
Code Compliance 112 4% May 270 12.3 day
T/PW 80 3% June 206 10.3 day
Law 67 3% July 258 11.7 day
Health 51 2% August 220 10.0 day
Finance 37 1% September 248 12.4 day
City Secretary 31 1%
Human Relations 29 1%
Municipal Court 28 1%
IT Solutions 22 1%
PALS 8 0.1% PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS
Engineering 6 0.1%
CM0 4 0.1% 300
Public Events 4 0.1% 250
200 01
■FY02
Planning 3 0.1% 150
Aviation 1 0.1% 100
50d10
Equipment Services 1 0.1% 0
Housing 1 0.1% 6 6 211
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t 0 z 2
IT Solutions/FD 1 0.1% E 0 E 0 5
0 0> 0
0 LL 0 (D
Library 1 0.1%
............
Retirement Admin. 1 0.1%
Zoo 1 0.1% Total Requests Daily Avg.
FY2002 2631 10.4
FY2001 1494 5.9
Percentage Increase 175%
Gary W. Jackson
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS