2.70.080 Requests for public records.

(1)    In accordance with requirements of the Washington Public Records Act that agencies prevent unreasonable invasions of privacy, protect public records from damage or disorganization, and prevent excessive interference with essential functions of the agency, public records may be inspected or copies of such records may be obtained, by members of the public, upon compliance with the following procedures:

(a)    Written Requests. A request shall be made in writing (or by fax or electronic mail if desired) upon a form prescribed by the county agency which shall be available at the offices where records are maintained. A request that is made other than upon the form prescribed by the office is permissible, but must provide the information listed in subsections (1)(a)(i) through (v) of this section. The request form shall be presented to the public records officer or public records coordinator, or to a member of the staff designated by him or her, if the public records officer or coordinator is not available, at the office during the office hours specified in this chapter. The request shall include the following information:

(i)    The name of the person requesting the record, together with appropriate contact information;

(ii)    The time of day and calendar date on which the request was made;

(iii)    The nature of the request;

(iv)    If the request is for a list of individuals, the requester shall certify that the request is not for commercial purposes, except as provided by state law;

(v)    The requester, at his or her option, may provide additional information necessary to determine the application of a statute or other law authorizing disclosure or exemption from disclosure of the record(s) requested.

(b)     In all cases in which a member of the public is making a request, it shall be the obligation of the public records officer, public records coordinator, or designated staff member to whom the request is made, to assist the member of the public in appropriately identifying and locating the public record requested.

(2)    Informal Requests. Certain departments and offices of elected officials, which have records in certain forms which have customarily been open to public inspection and/or copying, may, at the option of the heads of such departments or elected officials, permit inspection and copying without requiring such requests in writing.

(3)    Lack of Existing Records. County employees are not required to create documents in response to a public records request or to perform research, retrieve data, provide analysis, information or any report relating to the conduct of county business when no document exists that is responsive to the request. (Sec. 8 of Ord. 2007-07-09)