What is a public record?
Under Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 192, members of the public have the right to view nearly all types of records created by public bodies under the jurisdiction of the State of Oregon. This is meant to not only aid community members in receiving records important to them, but to also provide an important avenue of ensuring government transparency and accountability.
Nearly everything written, typed, recorded, photographed, or otherwise created by an employee of a public body is considered a public record and must be made available upon request, unless it is exempted from release by state or federal statute as interpreted by relevant case law.
Though public records must be made available upon request, the requests must be for specific records and the City is not obligated to perform any analysis or other work outside of providing the records as they are.
It is also important to note that many public records are not required to be kept in perpetuity. Based upon state statute, Oregon administrative rules, and the City Archivist's retention schedule, different types of records only need to be retained for certain periods of time. Details on the retention schedule for City records can be found below.
City Record Retention Schedule
What can be exempted or redacted from release?
Under ORS 192 some records are exempt from release and others include information which can or must be redacted. The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) keeps a list of many redactions and exemptions. The exact usage of these exemptions and redactions are often based upon the nature of the specific request and an evaluation of the public interest.
Oregon DOJ Public Records Exemptions and Redactions
How does the City of Portland handle requests?
In order to ensure compliance with ORS chapter 192, the City has a set policy (ARA-8.03) which outlines how requests must be submitted and responded to, how fees are calculated and applied, and other relevant information. The policy is updated via the administrative rules process.
Each bureau and office within the City are required to retain and provide its records upon request. The City also has a Legal Records Team, housed in the City Attorney's Office, that provides legal advice, oversee the public records request system, develop Citywide policies regarding the release of public records, provides training to City staff, and ensures records are released in a timely manner, amongst other duties.
Record requests can be sent to the city either via an online portal or by filling out and mailing in a standardized form. Requests by phone or email are not accepted.
What fees does the City charge?
The City has the right to establish reasonable fees to cover the actual costs associated with making records available, reviewing and redacting records prior to release, and creating printed copies. The City utilizes pre-paid estimated fees for some specific types of reports. A fee schedule can be found in City Rule ARA-8.03.
Pre-paid estimated fees are set based upon time studies measuring the amount of time it takes staff to review and provide specific types of records. These time studies are carried out periodically to ensure they remain up to date.
Fees involving staff time are based upon the hourly wage and overhead of the lowest paid employee who would be able to competently fulfill the request. When receiving a request, the City creates an estimate of what they expect fulfilling the request would cost and requires the member of the public to pay 50% of the estimated fee prior to processing the request. After work is completed, the member of the public must pay the remainder based upon the actual time it took to fulfill the request, with a refund given if it is below the original deposit. Records are not released until the final payment is made. If the estimate is high, the City often works with requesters to better refine their records request.
What types of fee waivers does the City offer?
The City provides a number of fee waivers for record requests at its discretion, these include:
Public Interest
Under ORS 192, the City is required to provide records at no cost or at a significantly reduced fee if it is determined that doing so serves the public interest and is to the benefit of the general public. The waiver is fully or partially granted or denied dependent upon answers to a set of questions provided by the member of the public making the request.
Financial Hardship
It is City policy that the City provides a full or partial fee waiver will be provided when the cost of obtaining the record would create an undue financial cost for the member of the public requesting the record. The waiver is fully or partially granted or denied dependent upon answers to a set of questions provided by the member of the public making the request.
Government Agency
It is the City policy that the City generally provides a full or partial fee waiver if the request is made by the representative of a government agency for official government use.
One-Hour
It is the City policy that if it takes less than one-hour of staff time to respond to a request which does not involve a pre-paid estimated fee, then the City will waive the fees associated with the request.
Crime and Fire Victims
It is the City policy that members of the public who are victims of a crime or fire can receive the related police or fire report free of charge if they are listed as the victim in said report.
How long does it take to receive my records?
Under ORS 192, upon receiving a request for public records, the City has 5 business days to acknowledge the request and 15 business days to either complete its response to the request or provide a reasonable estimated date when the request will be completed. This time does not include business days waiting for fees to be paid or waiting for responses to reasonable requests by the City for further clarification. In most cases, the requester must pay a fee or answer a request for further clarification within 60 calendar days or else the request can be closed.
The City is legally obligated to release the records as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay. However, the time periods set in ORS 192 do not apply if compliance would be impractical due to the staff needed to complete the request being unavailable, doing so would impede the public body's ability to perform other necessary City services, or the cumulative volume of public records requests is unusually high.
How can I appeal if I'm denied access to records?
A member of the public who has been denied access to public records, believes the release of records is being unduly delayed, or wishes to challenge the imposition of a fee or denial of a fee waiver has the right to appeal these determinations to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office. When the appeal is made, the City has the burden of proving that they made the correct determination.
Multnomah County District Attorney's Office Public Records Website
In cases where the member of the public disagrees with the District Attorney's order, they reserve the right to file suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Please note that public record request disputes involving elected officials are not under the jurisdiction of the District Attorney's Office and must be appealed directly to the Multnomah County Circuit Court.
What are Safety Exemptions?
Under ORS 192.368, all members of the public have the right to request that their information related to home address, personal phone number, or personal email address not be released as part of public records requests if they can show that doing so would endanger the personal safety of either themselves or a family member residing in their household. The granting of this exemption is at the discretion of the City. Once applied, the exemption remains active for five years or until the member of the public requests it be removed or if they update their voter registration, at which time they may request a new exemption. Such exemptions may not apply upon a court order, request from any law enforcement agency, or with the consent of the member of the public.
What is the Sanctuary Promise?
Since 1987, Oregon has been a sanctuary state, meaning that state and local police and other government entities may not help, directly or indirectly, federal authorities with immigration enforcement. With respect to the City's public records, state law mandates that public bodies not retain a person's country of birth and immigration or citizenship status. That information will not be shared by the Portland Police Bureau to assist in detaining anyone for immigration purposes, and all such requests by federal agencies for information about immigration enforcement will be documented, reported, and denied.
Oregon Sanctuary Promise Website
Where can I find records held by other public bodies?
The City has put together a list of regional public record request websites. While this list does not cover all public bodies, it does cover many of the most commonly searched for.