Alameda Municipal Code § 2-92 Public Information

Release of public records by a body or by any department, whether for inspection of the original or by providing a copy, shall be governed by the Public Records Act in any particulars not addressed by this chapter. The provisions of Government Code Section 7922.570 through 7922.585 are incorporated herein by reference.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3363 N.S., § 5, 3-5-2024)

a. The City Clerk shall be the City Custodian of Records and the City Manager shall designate a Custodian of Records for the Police Department. The City Clerk shall also designate in each department/office a Department Custodian of Records who shall ensure that all department staff who have contact with the public are prepared to provide written and oral information to the public.

b. The City Clerk "City Custodian of Records" shall, during normal hours of operation, without unreasonable delay, and without requiring an appointment, permit any person to inspect Public Record(s). The Custodian of Records of the Police Department shall during normal hours of operation, without unreasonable delay, and without requiring an appointment, permit any person to inspect Public Record(s). The custodians may establish reasonable limits to ensure orderly functioning of the office and protect records from theft or damage.

c. Every "Custodian of Records" shall following receipt of a request for a Public Record, respond to such request within the time frames and in the manner set forth in the Public Records Act, except as otherwise provided for by this article.

d. Requests submitted in person, via telephone, or via email or through the City website are considered requests.

e. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to hinder ordinary assistance in supplying records or information to the public and informal communications between members of the public, staff and members of policy bodies.

f. While not required, a written request is recommended in order to create a paper trail for the convenience and reference of the requestor.

g. Record requests made by email must be acknowledged with an email response to the sender.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 8, 4-19-2016; Ord. No. 3261 N.S., § 6, 2-18-20)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 9, adopted April 19, 2016, repealed § 2-92.3, which pertained to responsibilities of the mayor and derived from Ord. No. 3036 N.S., adopted November 1, 2011.

a. At a minimum, the following shall be posted on the City's website and provided in written form in the City Clerk's Office and at the reference desk of each Alameda public library. These documents must be posted on the City's Website for a period of at least four (4) years:

City Charter;

Alameda Municipal Code;

General Plan and Area Plans;

Zoning Ordinance;

Landmarks Preservation Ordinance;

Sunshine Ordinance;

Citizen's Guide to Public Information;

Records Index;

Records Retention Schedule;

Council Rules of Procedure;

Conflict of Interest Code;

Statements of Economic Interest*;

Executive Management Work Plans*;

Capital Improvement Plans*;

Agendas and Minutes of the Meetings of all Policy Bodies*;

Budgets*;

Draft and Final Environmental Impact Reports and Environmental Impact Statements (these documents may be posted on the website of the EIR/EIS consultant in lieu of the City's website so long as a link to such documents is made available on the City's website).**

* These documents may be removed from the City's Website four (4) years after they are filed or adopted.

** These documents may be removed from the City's Website once the project that relates to the environmental documents has been built out.

b. Each policy body shall have posted on the City's website all current meeting Agendas, minutes and other documents required to be made public and thereafter, make reasonable efforts to post past materials. Each policy body shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that its portion of the City's website is updated on a weekly basis.

c. Large documents, such as drafts and final copies of City budgets and records concerning environmental impacts, including but not limited to, those resulting from compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA), shall be posted on the City's website consistent with subsection a. above and made available at designated City offices with copies available for borrowing by the public at each Alameda public library.

d. Notices shall be written in easily understood language without undefined abbreviations or acronyms and give a full description of the subject, applicable regulations, significant consequences of taking action or non-action, when and where the subject will be considered, opportunities for public comment, and where to obtain further information.

e. The Open Government Commission shall review public notices to ensure that they conform to the requirements of this article and work to improve publicly accessible information databases to ensure consistency, equity, timing, and extent of noticing for meetings and other matters of public interest.

f. Right to notice regarding matters that may impact the physical environment shall be equivalent for residential and commercial tenants and property owners.

g. Meetings on matters related to or actions taken in anticipation of a potential development project or other land use matter, such as but not limited to grant applications, project funding, and ordinance changes, including but not limited to, General Plan and area plan amendments or rights transfers, shall be noticed at least as extensively as is required for meetings on said projects.

h. Online Public Records Repository. The City shall maintain an online repository of public documents on a publicly accessible website. The repository will allow the public to download any document in the repository in its entirety.

1. Documents in the repository shall be searchable at a minimum by title, date, author(s), and related City department(s).

2. Public documents should routinely be published to the public records repository by default. Documents are not required to be added to the repository where it would be cost prohibitive to do so.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 10, 4-19-2016; Ord. No. 3261 N.S., § 7, 2-18-20)

a. The City shall maintain a Public Records Index that identifies types of records maintained by departments and offices, including those of elected officials and policy bodies. The index shall be available to the public and organized under a uniform reference system that permits a general understanding of the types of records maintained, in which offices and departments, and for what periods of retention. The index shall be sufficient to aid the public in making a focused inquiry regarding public records. The index shall be posted on the City's website and available in written form in the City Clerk's office and in each Alameda public library.

b. The index shall classify each type of record as either:

1. "Open," meaning accessible to the public without exception and subject to immediate disclosure;

2. "Partially open," meaning possibly containing some exempt content, such that review is required; or

3. "Has been determined exempt" meaning that disclosure of the document may be restricted by state or federal law. Each classification of a record as "partially open" or "exempt" shall identify the specific legal authority relied upon in assigning that classification.

c. The City Clerk Custodian of Records shall be responsible for preparing and maintaining the index.

d. The Index shall be periodically reviewed by staff and Open Government Commission for accuracy and completeness.

e. A list of any change in the index shall be noted on the City's website.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 11, 4-19-2016)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 12, adopted April 19, 2016, repealed § 2-92.6, which pertained to opinions on matters of public concern and derived from Ord. No. 3036 N.S., adopted November 1, 2011.

Every policy body shall maintain a communications file, organized chronologically and accessible to any person during normal business hours, containing a copy of any letter, memorandum or other writing pertaining to the body's duties which the clerk or secretary of such body has distributed to, or sent on behalf of, a quorum of the body concerning a matter that has been placed on the body's agenda within the previous thirty (30) days or is scheduled or requested to be placed on the agenda within the next thirty (30) days. Excepted from the communications file shall be commercial solicitations, mail sent bulk-rate, agenda and agenda-related material, periodical publications or communications exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act or this title. Multiple-page reports, studies or analyses which accompanied by a letter or transmittal need not be included in the communications file; provided that the letter or memorandum of transmittal is included in the communications file and the reports, studies or analyses are readily available for review.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 13, 4-19-2016)

Notwithstanding any right or duty to withhold certain information under the California Public Records Act or other laws, the following shall govern specific types of requests for documents and information:

a. Drafts and Memoranda. No completed preliminary drafts or memoranda shall be exempt from disclosure under Government Code Section 7927.500 if said completed preliminary draft or memoranda has been retained in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to law or agency or department policy. Completed preliminary drafts and memoranda concerning agreements, memoranda of understanding or other matters subject to negotiation and pending a body's approval need not be subject to disclosure until final action has been taken or said document is included as part of the public agenda packet for the body, whichever is first.

b. Litigation Material. Unless otherwise privileged or made confidential by law, records of all communications between a body's representatives and the adverse party shall be subject to public inspection and copying, including the text and terms of any settlement agreement, once the pending litigation has been settled or finally adjudicated.

c. Personnel Information. None of the following shall be exempt from disclosure under Government Code Section 7927.700.

1. Job pool information, to the extent such information is compiled for reporting purposes and does not permit the identification of any particular individual. Such job pool information may include the following:

(a) Sex, age and ethnic group;

(b) Years of graduate and undergraduate study, degree(s) and major or discipline;

(c) Years of employment in the private and/or public sector;

(d) Other non-identifying particulars as to experience credentials, aptitudes, training or education entered in or attached to a standard employment application form used for the positioning in question.

2. The job description of every employment classification.

3. Any adopted memorandum of understanding between the City and a recognized employee organization.

4. Individual employee salaries.

d. Law Enforcement Information.

1. The Alameda Police Department and its Custodian of Records shall cooperate with all members of the public making requests for law enforcement records and documents under the California Public Records Act or other applicable law. Unless disclosure of the records sought is prohibited by other provisions of state or federal law, records and documents exempt from disclosure under the California Records Act pertaining to any investigation, arrest or other law enforcement activity shall be disclosed to the public to the full extent permitted by law after the district attorney or court determines that a prosecution will not be sought against the subject involved or the statute of limitations for filing charges has expired, whichever occurs first. Information may be redacted from such records and documents and withheld if, based upon the particular facts, the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Redacted law enforcement information may include:

(a) The names of juvenile witnesses or suspects;

(b) Personal or otherwise private information related or unrelated to the investigation if disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy;

(c) The identity of a confidential source;

(d) Secret investigative techniques or procedures;

(e) Information whose disclosure would endanger law enforcement personnel, a witness, or party to the investigation;

(f) Information whose disclosure would endanger the successful completion of an investigation where the prospect of enforcement proceedings is likely; or

(g) Any information required by State or federal law is to be kept confidential.

2. The Alameda Police Department shall maintain a record, which shall be a public record and which shall be separate from the personnel records of the agency, which reports the number of citizen complaints against law enforcement agencies or officers, the number and types of cases in which discipline is imposed and the nature of the discipline imposed. This record shall be maintained in a format which assures that the names and other identifying information of individual officers involved is not disclosed directly or indirectly.

e. Contracts, Bids and Proposals. Contracts, contract bids, responses to requests for proposals and all other records of communications between the City and individuals or business entities seeking contracts shall be open to inspection and copying following the contract award or acceptance of a contract offer. Nothing in this provision requires the disclosure of a person's net worth or other proprietary financial information submitted for qualification for a contract.

f. Budgets and Other Financial Information. The following shall not be exempt from disclosure:

1. Any proposed or adopted budget for the City, including any of their respective agencies, departments, programs, projects or other categories, which have been submitted to a majority of the members of the City Council, or their standing committees.

2. All bills, claims, invoices, vouchers or other records of payment obligations, as well as records of actual disbursements showing the amount paid, the payee and the purpose for which payment is made, other than payments for social, legal or other services whose records are confidential by law. The nonconfidential portion, if any, of such records shall be disclosed.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3363 N.S., § 6, 3-5-2024)

a. A Custodian of Records shall make good faith efforts to comply within a shortened timeframe that has been reasonably justified by a records requester by the facts of his or her situation, e.g. the requester needs the documents for a hearing scheduled the next day. A request to inspect or obtain copies of public records that is submitted to any department or to any policy body shall receive a response within the time frames and in the manner set forth in this Ordinance and the Public Records Act, unless the requestor is advised in writing that additional time is needed to determine whether:

1. The request seeks disclosable public records or information;

2. The requested records are in the possession of the department processing the request;

3. The requested records are stored in a location outside of the department;

4. The requested records likely comprise a voluminous amount of separate and distinct writings;

5. The requested records reasonably involve another department or other local or state agency that has a substantial subject matter interest in the requested records and which must be consulted in connection with the request.

b. Additional time shall not be permitted to delay a routine or readily answerable request.

c. The person seeking the information need not state a reason for making the request or the use to which the information will be put, but may be advised that providing such information may help the City assist the person finding all documents responsive to their request.

d. Unless the record request will be satisfied within one (1) business day, an acknowledgement of receipt of the request or notification that additional time is needed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be sent to the requestor if an address has been provided.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3261 N.S., § 8, 2-18-20)

a. An immediate disclosure request is a request for (1) public records which have been previously distributed to the public, such as past meeting agendas and agenda-related materials, and including public records requests, within the past calendar year, or (2) public records that have, by other law, a requirement to be disclosed within a specific shortened time frame. All immediate disclosure requests shall describe the records sought in as focused and specific language as possible so they can be readily identified and shall state the words "Immediate Disclosure Request" across the top of the first page of the request and on any envelope in which the request is transmitted.

b. An immediate disclosure request shall be satisfied no later than three (3) business days unless the requestor is advised in writing within two (2) business days that additional time is needed because of the volume of records sought.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011)

No record shall be withheld from disclosure in its entirety unless all information contained in it is exempt from disclosure by law. Any redacted or withheld information or documents shall be explained in writing.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011)

Any withholding of information shall be justified, in writing, as follows:

a. A withholding under a permissive exemption in the California Public Records Act or this title shall cite the legal authority and, where the exemption is based on the public interest in favor of not disclosing, explain in practical terms how the public interest would be harmed by disclosure.

b. A withholding on the basis that disclosure is prohibited by law shall cite the applicable legal authority.

c. A withholding on the basis that disclosure would incur civil or criminal liability shall cite any statutory or case law supporting that position.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011)

a. No fee shall be charged for making public records available for inspection.

b. No fee shall be charged for a single copy of a current meeting agenda.

c. A fee may be charged for non-digital copies of:

1. Single or multiple copies of past meeting agendas or any agenda-related materials;

2. Multiple copies of a current meeting agenda; and

3. Any other public record copied in response to a specific request.

d. The City may, rather than making copies itself, contract at market rate to have a commercial copier produce the duplicates and charge the cost directly to the requester.

e. In addition to the copies routinely required for City official or staff use, the City shall require the applicant for a project that is, or will be, of widespread public interest to pay for up to twenty (20) copies of documents such as environmental impact reports. These copies will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis at no cost to members of the public. The City Manager or designee shall determine if and how many extra copies will be required on a case by case basis.

f. If records requested are available or can be made available in electronic format, they will be provided as such at no cost. Electronic documents will be delivered via email or by posting on the City website. Requests for documents in their original electronic format will be respected unless cost-prohibitive to fully redact.

g. All fees permitted under this section shall be determined and specified in the City of Alameda master fee schedule, as amended. When the cost of writing a receipt and collecting the fees required under this section would exceed the cost of the copies, the copying fee may be waived. The master fee schedule shall note the maximum amount that may be waived.

h. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as intending to preempt any fee set by or in compliance with state law.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011; Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 14, 4-19-2016)

Each department shall make an effort to ensure its portion of the City's website is kept current. Each department shall also post public documents that are of interest to a wide number of the public.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 3151 N.S., § 15, adopted April 19, 2016, repealed § 2-92.15, which pertained to requests made by e-mail and derived from Ord. No. 3036 N.S., adopted November 1, 2011.

a. It is the policy of the City to utilize computer technology in order to reduce the cost of public records management, including the costs of collecting, maintaining, and disclosing records subject to disclosure to members of the public under this chapter. To the extent that it is technologically and economically feasible, departments that use computer systems to collect and store public records shall select these systems to ensure convenient, efficient, and economical public access to records.

b. Departments purchasing new computer systems shall attempt to reach the following goals as a means to achieve lower costs to the public in connection with the public disclosure of records:

1. Implementing a computer system in which exempt information is segregated or filed separately from otherwise disclosable information.

2. Implementing a system that permits paper reproduction of electronic copies of records.

c. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require the City to use a system that would prevent it from complying with the security requirements of the state and federal governments for accessing their records.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011)

a. Electronic formats used to represent public documents should be chosen so they are easily accessible to the public.

1. Electronic documents will be published in a machine-processable format so that the public can sort, search, and transform the information to meet their needs. For example, text documents must be delivered such that the text itself is machine-processable and can be searched or processed by text-to-speech software. Documents originally in handwritten form are exempt from this requirement.

2. Except in the case where the City can cite a significant overriding consideration, electronic formats shall be chosen such that they can be viewed on a variety of mainstream computing platforms using freely available software. Electronic formats susceptible to obsoletion and patent licensing restrictions and formats dependent on a single operating system or proprietary software program shall not be used.

Care must be taken with any electronic documents that have redactions. Some document formats retain a history of changes made, so while some content may appear to be deleted from a document it may be recoverable. Staff who perform redactions are responsible for understanding the implications of the document formats they are using and ensuring that redacted information is completely removed from the document.

(Ord. No. 3036 N.S., § 1, 11-1-2011)