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County attorney proposes adopting sheriff’s 91‑A policy; staff pursue archival solution for text messages
Summary
County Attorney raised the need for a formal RSA 91‑A (right‑to‑know) records policy and recommended using the sheriff’s longer‑standing policy as a starting point; staff are testing CivicPlus archival tools to capture texts and electronic records after AT&T said it retains call metadata only 48 hours.
Rockingham County’s county attorney told commissioners May 8 that the county lacks a consolidated policy for responding to RSA 91‑A right‑to‑know records requests and proposed using the sheriff’s department policy as a template for the county.
The county attorney said the sheriff’s policy includes fees and practical procedures for providing records in paper or electronic formats and that the sheriff’s office had not received complaints under that approach. He recommended the commission consider adopting a similar countywide policy after legal review.
Commissioners and staff discussed fees and practical issues for electronic records. The county attorney and staff raised questions about charging per‑page fees for records delivered electronically. One commissioner warned a per‑page fee for USB copies of thousands of pages might be an impediment to access; another said legal guidance is needed because law on charging for electronic access has changed.
Staff reported that AT&T retains only about 48 hours of call‑metadata, meaning text content often resides on devices and is not available from the carrier without a subpoena and formal legal process. The meeting included a discussion of costs: a staff member said AT&T would require a formal request and a fee (noted in the meeting as about $70) to produce certain records.
To address archiving gaps for texts and other electronic records, county staff have scheduled a CivicPlus demo to evaluate a software solution that can archive messages across county systems and make compliance with records requests less burdensome. Robin Bernier and other staff indicated the demo was scheduled for the week following the meeting and that CivicPlus could centralize multiple systems’ records.
Commissioners instructed staff to compile policies and consult county counsel and vendors — including PrimeX templates and the sheriff’s existing policy — to draft a recommended county policy for commissioners’ review. No policy was adopted at the May 8 meeting; next steps are legal review and further policy drafting.
