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Item 4D - MemoM E M O R A N D U M February 11, 2025 To: Alison Ortowski, City Manager From: Amy Shelley, City Secretary Subject: Resolution No. 25-004, designating the method for making written requests for public information. Action Requested: Approve a resolution designating the method for making written requests for public information. Background Information: Senate Bill No. 944, approved during the 86th Legislative Session, allowed governmental agencies to designate a single e-mail address and single mailing address through the governmental body’s website to receive Public Information Act (PIA) requests. City Council will consider Resolution No. 25-004 to align the City’s current practice of receiving PIA requests with Senate Bill No. 944. Senate Bill No. 944 added Texas Government Code Section 552.234 – method of making written request for public information. A person may make a written request for public information under this chapter only by delivering the request by a method approved by the governing body to the applicable officer for public information or a person designated by that officer. The methods of delivery include: • United States mail; • Electronic mail; • Hand delivery; or • Any other appropriate method approved by the governmental body, including facsimile transmission and electronic submission through the governmental body’s internet website. Currently, requests for public information are received at various City email addresses, and hand-delivered requests can be given to any City employee. Without a designated submission location, requests may be delayed, misdirected, or overlooked, particularly when employees are out of the office or otherwise unavailable. This lack of a centralized process can make it challenging to ensure timely compliance with the Public Information Act (PIA) and responsiveness to the public. ITEM 4D To be diligent, responsive to the public, and ensure timely compliance with the PIA, the process for making written requests for public information may be made by designating the following: • One mailing address: City of Southlake Records Division 600 State Street Southlake, Texas 76092 • One electronic email address: records@ci.southlake.tx.us • Officer for receipt of hand delivery during business hours: City of Southlake City of Southlake Records Division City Secretary’s Office 600 State Street 1400 Main Street, Suite 270 Southlake, Texas 76092 Southlake, Texas 76092 • Designating electronic submission through the City’s website “Public Information Act Requests” If approved, the City’s website and the sign required by the PIA informing the public of their basic rights and responsibilities will be updated with the designated methods of delivery. The City is not required to respond to written requests for public information unless the request is received by one of the approved methods by City Council. Financial Considerations: Non-applicable Strategic Link: CSOC1: Provide excellent service by assisting the public and elected officials in navigating governmental processes. Citizen Input/ Board Review: Non-applicable Legal Review: Non-applicable Alternatives: None Supporting Documents: Resolution No. 25-004 Staff Recommendation: Approve Resolution No. 25-004, designating the method for making written requests for public information. RESOLUTION NO. 25-004 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS, APPROVING THE METHOD FOR MAKING WRITTEN REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION; DIRECTING THE CITY SECRETARY TO DISPLAY THE OPEN RECORDS POSTER; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Whereas, the City of Southlake, Texas (“City”) is a home rule municipality acting under its Charter adopted by the electorate pursuant to Article XI, Section 5, of the Texas Constitution and Chapter 9 of the Texas Local Government Code; and Whereas, Section 552.234 of the Texas Government Code allows governmental bodies to adopt methods by which requests for public information shall be made; and Whereas, the City desires to designate approved methods for submitting written public information requests to the City. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS, THAT: Section 1. All the findings in the preamble are found to be true and correct and the City Council does hereby incorporate said findings into the body of this resolution as if copied in its entirety. Section 2. The City Council designates the following methods by which requests for Public Information can be made: (1) One mailing address: City of Southlake Records Division 600 State Street Southlake, Texas 76092 (2) One electronic email address: records@ci.southlake.tx.us (3) Officer for receipt of hand delivery during business hours: City of Southlake City of Southlake Records Division City Secretary’s Office 600 State Street 1400 Main Street, Suite 270 Southlake, Texas 76092 Southlake, Texas 76092 (4) Designating electronic submission through the City’s website “Public Information Act Requests. Section 3. The City Secretary is directed to update the Open Records Poster, attached hereto as Exhibit A, to reflect these designated methods and display the Open Records Poster on the City website and in the City Secretary’s Office in accordance with Texas Government Code Sections 552.205 and 522.234(d). Section 4. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon passage and it is so resolved. PASSED AND APPROVED THIS THE 18TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2025. CITY OF SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS ___________________________ Shawn McCaskill Mayor ATTEST: __________________________ Amy Shelley, TRMC City Secretary THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT Rights of Requestors You have the right to: •Prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected; •Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including accom- modation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements; •Receive certain kinds of information without exceptions, like the voting record of public officials, and other information; •Receive a written statement of estimated charges, when charges will exceed $40, in advance of work being started and opportunity to modify the request in response to the itemized statement; •Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most often at no charge), receive copies of the information or both; •A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body de- termines that access to the information primarily benefits the general public; •Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling on whether the information can be withheld under one of the accepted excep- tions, or if the communication discloses the requested information, a redacted copy; •Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public information with the Office of the Attorney General. Complaints of other pos- sible violations may be filed with the county or district attorney of the county where the governmental body, other than a state agency, is located. If the complaint is against the county or district attorney, the complaint must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General. Responsibilities of Governmental Bodies All governmental bodies responding to information requests have the responsibility to: •Establish reasonable procedures for inspecting or copying public information and inform requestors of these procedures; •Treat all requestors uniformly and shall give to the requestor all reasonable comfort and facility, including accommodation in accor- dance with ADA requirements; •Be informed about open records laws and educate employees on the requirements of those laws; •Inform requestors of the estimated charges greater than $40 and any changes in the estimates above 20 percent of the original estimate, and confirm that the requestor accepts the charges, or has amended the request, in writing before finalizing the request; •Inform the requestor if the information cannot be provided prompt- ly and set a date and time to provide it within a reasonable time; •Request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regard- ing any information the governmental body wishes to withhold, and send a copy of the request for ruling, or a redacted copy, to the requestor; •Segregate public information from information that may be with- held and provide that public information promptly; •Make a good faith attempt to inform third parties when their pro- prietary information is being requested from the governmental body; •Respond in writing to all written communications from the Office of the Attorney General regarding charges for the information. Re- spond to the Office of the Attorney General regarding complaints about violations of the Act. Procedures to Obtain Information √Submit a request by mail, e-mail, or in person, or any other appropriate method approved by the governmental body. √Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the governmental body to accurately identify and locate the information requested. √Cooperate with the governmental body's reasonable efforts to clarify the type or amount of information requested. A. Information to be released •You may review it promptly, and if it cannot be produced within 10 working days the public information officer will notify you in writing of the reasonable date and time when it will be available. •Keep all appointments to inspect records and to pick up copies. Failure to keep appointments may result in losing the opportunity to inspect the information at the time requested. Cost of Records •You must respond to any written estimate of charges within 10 days of the date the governmental body sent it or the request is considered automatically withdrawn. •If estimated costs exceed $100.00 (or $50.00 if a governmental body has fewer than 16 full time employees) the governmental body may require a bond, prepayment or deposit. •You may ask the governmental body to determine whether providing the information primarily benefits the general public, resulting in a waiver or reduction of charges. •Make a timely payment for all mutually agreed charges. A govern- mental body can demand payment of overdue balances exceeding $100.00, or obtain a security deposit, before processing additional requests from you. B. Information that may be withheld due to an exception •If a governmental body determines the requested information is not subject to a previous determination or a statute that allows the in- formation to be withheld without requesting a ruling, by the 10th business day after a governmental body receives your written re- quest, a governmental body must: 1. request an Attorney General Letter Decision and state which ex- ceptions apply; 2.notify the requestor of the referral to the Attorney General; and 3. notify third parties if the request involves their proprietary information. •Failure to request an Attorney General Letter Decision and notify the requestor within 10 business days will result in a presumption that the information is open unless there is a compelling reason to withhold it. •Requestors may send a letter to the Attorney General arguing for release, and may review arguments made by the governmental body. If the arguments disclose the requested information, the requestor may obtain a redacted copy. •The Attorney General must issue a decision no later than the 45th working day from the day after the attorney general received the re- quest for a decision. The attorney general may request an additional 10 working day extension. •Governmental bodies may not ask the Attorney General to "recon- sider" a decision. Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, gives you the right to access government records; and an officer for public information and the officer’s agent may not ask why you want them. All government information is presumed to be available to the public. Certain exceptions may apply to the disclosure of the information. Governmental bodies shall promptly release requested information that is not confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision, or information for which an exception to disclosure has not been sought. To request information from this governmental body, please contact: By mail: City of Southlake, Records Division, 600 State Street, Southlake, Texas 76092 By e-mail: records@cityofsouthlake.com In person: 600 State Street or 1400 Main Street, Suite 270 Southlake, TX 76092 Online portal: https://www.cityofsouthlake.com/3847/Public- Information-Act-Requests For complaints regarding failure to release public information please contact your local County or District Attorney. Please ask and you will be provided with this information. •You may also contact the Office of the Attorney General, Open Gov- ernment Hotline, at 512-478-6736 or toll-free at 1-877-673-6839. •For complaints regarding overcharges, please contact the Office of the Attorney General, Cost Hotline at 512-475-2497 or toll-free at 1-888-672-6787. If you need special accommodation pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact our ADA coordinator, Operations Manager, Melody Andersen (817) 748-8037 or mandersen@cityofsouthlake.com REV 8/19 Exhibit A REV 8/19 LEY DE INFORMACIÓN PÚBLICA Derechos del Solicitante Tiene derecho a: •Acceso sin demora a información que no es confidencial o está de otra manera protegida; •Ser tratado igual que los demás solicitantes, incluyendo instala- ciones que cumplen con los requisitos de la Ley para Personas con Discapacidades (Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA); •Recibir cierta información sin excepciones, tal como el expediente de votación de un funcionario público y otra información; •Recibir por adelantado una lista detallada de los costos calculados, cuando el costo sobrepase 40 dólares, por trabajo que se haga y por la oportunidad de modificar la solicitud en respuesta a esta lista detallada; •Elegir si desea inspeccionar la información solicitada (generalmente sin costo alguno), recibir copias de la información o ambas opciones; •Una reducción o eliminación del costo si el organismo guberna- mental determina que el acceso a la información beneficia a todo el público en general; •Recibir una copia de la comunicación del organismo gubernamen- tal la cual le solicita a la Procuraduría General una decisión sobre si se puede negar la información bajo una de las excepciones aceptadas o una copia redactada si dicha comunicación revela la información solicitada; •Presentar una queja escrita ante la Procuraduría General de Texas por sobrecargos al brindar acceso a información pública. Las quejas sobre otras posibles violaciones se pueden presentar ante el fiscal de condado o distrito en el condado donde el organismo guberna- mental, aparte de una agencia estatal, está localizado. Si la queja es contra el fiscal de distrito o del condado, la queja se debe presentar ante la Procuraduría General. Responsabilidades de los Organismos Gubernamentales Todos los organismos gubernamentales que responden a solicitudes de infor- mación tienen la responsabilidad de: •Establecer procedimientos razonables para inspeccionar o copiar in- formación pública e informar a los solicitantes de este procedimiento; •Tratar a todos los solicitantes igual y brindarles las comodidades y facilidades razonables, incluyendo instalaciones que cumplen con los requisitos de la ADA; •Estar informado sobre las leyes de transparencia gubernamental y educar a los empleados sobre los requisitos de tales leyes; •Informar al solicitante del costo calculado si es más de 40 dólares y de cualquier cambio en los cálculos que sobrepasen el 20 por ciento del cálculo original y confirmar que el solicitante acepta los cargos o ha cambiado la solicitud, por escrito, antes de finalizarla; •Informarle al solicitante si no se puede proveer la información con prontitud y establecer una fecha y hora para presentarla dentro de un tiempo razonable; •Solicitar una decisión de la Procuraduría General sobre cualquier información que el organismo gubernamental no desee revelar y enviar una copia de la solicitud o una copia redactada al solicitante; •Separar la información pública de la información que se puede re- tener y proveer al público la información pública rápidamente; •Hacer un intento de buena fe para informar a terceros cuando su información de propiedad exclusiva está siendo solicitada del organ- ismo gubernamental; •Responder por escrito a todas las comunicaciones escritas de la Procuraduría General sobre el costo de la información. Responder a la Procuraduría General sobre quejas de violaciones a la Ley. Procedimientos para Obtener Información √Presentar la solicitud por correo, correo electrónico, en persona, o en otra manera apropiada que es aprobada por el organismo gubernamental. √Incluir suficiente descripción y detalle sobre la información que solicita para permitirle al organismo gubernamental identificar la información solicitada con exactitud y localizarla. √Cooperar con los esfuerzos razonables del organismo gubernamental para aclarar el tipo o cantidad de información solicitada. A. Información que se entrega •Usted podría revisarla de inmediato, y si no se puede proporcionar dentro del plazo de 10 días hábiles, el funcionario de información pública le notificará por escrito de una fecha y hora razonables cuando estará disponible. •Mantenga todas las citas para inspeccionar archivos o recoger co- pias. El no presentarse a las citas podría resultar en perder la opor- tunidad de inspeccionar la información en el momento solicitado. Costo del expediente •Usted deberá responder a cualquier estimado por escrito de los car- gos que se le envíe dentro de un lapso de 10 días a partir de la fecha en que el organismo gubernamental lo envió o la solicitud será con- siderada como retirada. •Si los costos calculados sobrepasan los 100 dólares (o 50 dólares si el organismo gubernamental cuenta con menos de 16 empleados de tiempo completo), el organismo gubernamental quizás requiera un bono, pago por adelantado o depósito. •Usted le puede pedir al organismo gubernamental que considere si el proveer la información beneficia al público, lo que podría resultar en que no se le cobren o se reduzcan los cargos. •Hacer el pago a tiempo de todos los costos acordados por ambos. Un organismo gubernamental puede exigir el pago de los saldos morosos que exceden 100 dólares u obtener un depósito de seguri- dad, antes de procesar solicitudes adicionales. B. Información que podría no ser revelada debido a una excepción •Si un organismo gubernamental determina que la información so- licitada no es sujeta a una determinación previa o a una ley que permite no revelar la información sin solicitar una decisión, o al cumplir los 10 días hábiles después de que el organismo guberna- mental recibe su solicitud escrita, éste debe: 1. solicitar una Decisión por Carta del Procurador General y declarar las excepciones que aplican; 2. notificarle al solicitante que se ha presentado la solicitud ante el Procurador General; y 3.notificarle a terceros si la información tiene que ver con su infor- mación de propiedad exclusiva. •Si no se solicita una Decisión por Carta del Procurador General y no se notifica al solicitante dentro de 10 días hábiles resultará en la suposición de que la información está disponible al público, a menos que exista una razón contundente para no revelarla. •Los solicitantes pueden enviarle una carta al Procurador General exhortándole a que se revele la información y pueden revisar argu- mentos hechos por el organismo gubernamental. Si los argumentos revelan la información solicitada, el solicitante puede obtener una copia redactada. •El Procurador General debe emitir una decisión antes de que se cumplan 45 días hábiles desde el día en que la Procuraduría Gener- al recibió la solicitud del organismo gubernamental. El Procurador General puede solicitar una extensión adicional de 10 días hábiles. •Los organismos gubernamentales no pueden pedirle al Procurador General que "reconsidere" una decisión.. El Capítulo 552 del Código Gubernamental de Texas (Texas Government Code), le otorga al público acceso a archivos gubernamentales sin que un funcionario de información pública o el agente del funcionario pregunten para qué se desea tal información. Se asume que toda la información gubernamental está disponible al público. Sin embargo, se podrían aplicar algunas excepciones a la revelación de alguna información. Los organismos gubernamentales deberán revelar sin demora la información solicitada que no es confidencial conforme a la ley o por decisión judicial o información para la que no se ha buscado una excepción a la revelación. Para solicitar información pública de este organismo, favor de contactar a: Por Correo: City of Southlake, Records Division, 600 State Street, Southlake, Texas 76092 Por correo electrónico: records@cityofsouthlake.com En persona en: 600 State Street or 1400 Main Street, Suite 270, Southlake, Texas 76092 Portal en línea: https://www.cityofsouthlake.com/3847/Public- Information-Act-Requests Para presentar una queja sobre información pública no revelada, favor de contactar a su Fiscal de Condado o Distrito. Por favor comuníquese para más infomación. •También puede contactar a la Procuraduría General, Línea Espe- cial de Transparencia Gubernamental al (512) 478-6736 o gratuita- mente al 1-877-673-6839. •Para presentar quejas relacionadas a sobrecargos, favor de contactar a la Línea Especial de Costos de la Procuraduría General al 512-475-2497 o gratuitamente al 1-888-672-6787. Si necesita servicios especiales que cumplan con la Ley para Personas Discapacitadas (ADA), favor de contactar a nuestro coordinador de ley ADA, Operations Manager, Melody Andersen (817) 748-8037 or mandersen@cityofsouthlake.com Exhibit A