City Clerk Ashley Foster presented an administrative revision to the city’s public records request policy intended to clarify procedures, incorporate the Wyoming retention schedule and make the policy more user-friendly.

Foster said the policy was last substantially updated in 2018; the city adopted the Wyoming retention schedule by resolution in 2019 but had not incorporated it into the policy text. The proposed changes move fee language into the master fee schedule, add a table of contents and clearer step-by-step procedures for general and police-record requests, and clarify that the city follows Wyoming statute (sometimes referenced as the Wyoming Public Records Act or Sunshine Law) rather than federal FOIA rules.

Foster told the council the city implemented new records-management software in March 2024 and that average times to close requests were about 9.6 days last year and an improved 8.4 days year to date, with an overall average of 8.9 days. She said staff do not accept verbal requests as formal public records requests; if a requester needs help staff will assist in generating a written submission and that the clerk’s office will notify requesters within seven days if costs apply or if the records are not held by the city.

Councilors asked about the master fee schedule timeline and search functionality in the public documents portal. Foster said the master fee schedule should be presented with the annual budget and staff aims to present updates before year-end; she offered to help council members locate the portal search feature. No policy adoption vote was recorded at the study session.