New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
City looks to streamline public record requests
NEW HAVEN — According the mayor, the city historically “has not had a good process” for people to follow when they are seeking public records through state Freedom of Information laws.
So the city has quietly streamlined its process for requesting public records, putting a digital form on its website.
Gage Frank, the city’s communications director, pointed the New Haven Register to the form Friday during a routine public records request.
“(T)his is new, and is meant to streamline requests, especially with the impacts of COVID-19,”
Frank said.
Mayor Justin Elicker said the process, which recently had a “soft launch,” is meant to make it easier to organize and respond to requests for public records.
“Historically the city has not had a good process,” he said.
He said requests for public information often have been made by residents to their local alders, creating issues around tracking and responses. Staff also have struggled with knowing how to respond adequately to these requests, he said.
Not everyone in the city is convinced the measures will be helpful.
The Rev. Boise Kimber, senior pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church, is a government watchdog who said he’s stopped requesting records through the official channels.
“I don’t ask anymore,” he said. “They never send it. I wasn’t getting any response from them.”
He said the change “doesn’t mean anything because they’re not going to give you nothing.”
Richard Hanley, an associate professor of journalism as Quinnipiac University, described the online form as a step in the right direction for the ease with which public information can be requested.
“The proof is in its execution,” he said. “If a request is made and responded to in a timely fashion it works and it’s efficient. If not, it makes no sense to use a website with a form letter.”
He commended the intention to make processing public information requests more “frictionless,” but said he believes the form itself — “a 1990s-style interface” — could be updated.
“It would be useful if there were drop-down
menus of forms that are ordinarily sought or documents that are ordinarily sought through FOI requests to make it that much easier for folks to make the request instead of having to key in the info, and it costs nothing to implement,” he said. “I view this as a bridge to an even more efficient version in its next iteration.”
The request form, which is hosted on seamlessdocs.com, can be found on the city’s website organized under a “Government” tab. Before the form can be accessed, a page is visible providing some information about the state’s public information law.
“Using this form will assure that the City has the information needed to process the request efficiently,” the page informs the public. The informational page explains the form is “to ensure a clear and complete understanding of the records requested.”
“Requesters should be aware that the City receives many requests for information under (the Freedom of Information Act), and that City personnel require time to gather and review re
sponsive records. The City works to provide complete responses, but doing so takes time, and patience is requested and appreciated, as these requests are fulfilled,” the website says.
Before a requester can fill out the form, they must check a box affirming their consent to complete the document digitally and that the information during their “user session” will be stored. The message is translated into Spanish, as well.
The form asks for the requester’s name and address and provides space for other means of contact if the requester prefers to be reached by phone or email. The form also requests a signature, although a Register reporter was unable to input a signature in that field online.
Requesters are prompted to enter their request with “as much specific detail as possible, ideally including subject matter, time frame and type of record or party names.”
Under state law, records requested must be acknowledged as received within four business days and then records must be provided “promptly” and “without undue delay.”
Elicker said lack of access to the internet for people wishing to make requests is “a huge concern,” but it has been an issue in general before the city launched the system.
“People can always call our corporation counsel office to submit their requests,” he said. “People can also physically go to the department heads, as well.”
As of Friday afternoon, the request form’s website did not have any contact information for city departments, something Elicker promised to fix.
Other Connecticut cities, such as Bridgeport, previously began directing people to an online public records request form.
“It works really well and I’m quite sure New Haven is going to be quite happy with it,” said Bridgeport Director of Communications Rowena White.
Bridgeport’s public records request portal officially launched in 2017, she said.
“Internally it allows a work process flow to happen more easily, so for example in the city of Bridgeport it initiates with the City Attorney’s office and they have a person or persons who review FOIs and designate people from different departments to do the work,” she said. “If an FOI comes in for purchasing, it goes to a designee in the purchasing department and allows for an upload of documents and response into the portal instead of searching for random emails or ‘I stopped by your office and missed you’ stuff.”
White said Bridgeport’s digitized system also creates the ability for the city to speed up its process for redacting information by linking it to redacting software.
“When people FOI from the public they may not know who they should be requesting a piece of information from, so it’s helpful when it’s from a portal,” she said.