pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-02-01.pdf, 4
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2021-02-01 | 4 | The City Clerk responded the Commission provided input into the format of the report and selected the PRAs that rose to the top in terms of importance; each department has their own PRA log; the requests received by her office and other departments are straightforward and simple; the ones brought to the City Attorney's office are more complex; therefore, the Commission specifically requested a list of those PRAs. Commissioner Chen inquired whether there is a satisfaction survey done after complaints are resolved, to which the City Clerk responded there was a formal survey process years ago but it has not been carried forward in the budget; she receives informal follow-up from requests that are satisfactorily completed. Vice Chair Shabazz stated reviewing the PRA logs and seeing who the frequent requestors are has taught him a lot about Alameda politics; he reached out to a few of the requestors and wanted to share some feedback; one of the glowing reviews from a requestor was: "if the City continues to hire people like those currently on staff, I remain confident that those of us in the general public who seek information will be able to get it;" he is concerned that the report focuses on the requests that specifically went to the City Attorney's office; he does not recall it was the initial intent; the Sunshine Ordinance designates the City Clerk as the primary custodian and the City Attorney's office is designated for the Police Department; based on his own experience and after reading the report, there have been a number of requests that may not have come forward that may have been beneficial to have recorded in the report; he does not know how challenging it would be to compile the data; in order to be able to understand whether or not the community is being fully served by departments outside of the City Clerk and City Attorney's offices, it would be helpful to know how many PRAs are actually coming forward; adding another column, which shows which departments the PRAs originated from, would be valuable information. The City Clerk stated most of the requests, which are forwarded to the City Attorney's office, originate from her department; any requests that ask for emails must be reviewed by the City Attorney's office and are automatically forwarded; the City Clerk's office is working with the City Manager's office to implement a portal for record requests to be done through the City's website, which should simplify the tracking process as well. Commissioner LoPilato suggested more appropriate language to replace "voluntarily suspended" might be "abandoned by complainant;" thanked Vice Chair Shabazz and former Commissioner Little for all their contributions and efforts on the PRA report; inquired whether there is an analytical framework for assessing PRAs; mentioned the importance of metrics to be able to track whether issues are moving in the right direction and if there is a failure rate; she would like to see a column, which identifies what is happening earlier in the pipeline; there should be a way to gauge whether departments are repeatedly overlooking requests; it would be helpful if a broader set of data could be built into the portal; it is important to implement the Sunshine Ordinance appropriately; inquired whether requestors are advised of the complaint procedure if they are not satisfied with the resolution of their request. Meeting of the Open Government Commission February 2, 2021 4 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-02-01.pdf |