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Council backs searchable public‑records portal and monthly transparency summary
Summary
After debate over privacy and staff burden, council approved publishing a searchable public‑records portal and monthly summaries of public‑records requests; staff will avoid publishing requester contact details where legally sensitive but will provide request text and responsive documents.
The San Clemente City Council voted Oct. 7 to post a searchable public‑records portal on the city website and to publish monthly public‑records‑request summaries after council debate over privacy, staffing burden and transparency. Staff reported that the city has handled between 1,153 and 1,545 public‑records requests annually in recent years and that requests range from property reports to large email searches that can produce thousands of documents requiring review and redaction.
Council discussed three options: a searchable portal that shows past requests and the documents produced, a monthly report of requests, or a combination of both. After discussion of privacy risks and recent instances where unredacted information had been posted in error in other jurisdictions, the council adopted staff recommendation No. 3 — a combination approach — by unanimous vote. The city attorney noted that the request itself is a public record and that posting a requester name is not in itself a constitutional problem, but staff said they would consider privacy and do redactions where required. Council asked staff to implement safeguards and to return with a public portal design that balances transparency and privacy.
