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City attorney reviews Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act; warns council about social-media, retention and metadata risks
Summary
City Attorney Hillary Evans delivered a refresher on Washington's Public Records Act (PRA) and Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), explaining why broad disclosure rules, metadata and retention schedules matter, and advising council members to use city accounts for city business and to avoid serial communications on public matters.
Hillary Evans, Mountlake Terrace city attorney, briefed the council on the Public Records Act (PRA) and the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), focusing on officials' disclosure obligations, records retention and the legal risks of using personal accounts for city business.
Evans described the PRA as a broad mandate for public disclosure: "It mandates full access to information concerning the conduct of government on every level," she said, and reminded the council that "a record is any writing," including electronic messages and voicemails. She explained the difference between production (collecting all responsive records) and disclosure (redacting exempt information before release), and noted that the city's public records officers must collect responsive material even if parts are privileged and then produce redaction logs citing applicable RCW exemptions.
Evans emphasized metadata and retention: electronic records frequently contain metadata…
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