Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Records Ipra topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff briefed on IPRA workloads, new software and redaction challenges
Summary
City IPRA manager reported a steady rise in public-records requests, plans to move to a new records platform, and continuing redaction and staffing strains that require cross-department cooperation.
Catherine Garcia Gallegos, the city’s Inspection of Public Records Act manager, told the governing body that public-records requests increased more than 25% in 2024 and that the Office of Records Custodians responded to more than 38,000 requests since 2021.
Garcia Gallegos said the city currently uses NextRequest to receive and publish fulfilled requests and is negotiating a contract to replace it with a platform that offers enhanced communications, improved reporting and easier searchability. She said the office closed 10,824 requests in 2024 and has received more than 2,000 requests so far this year.
The nut graf: The city’s records office says rising demand and time-consuming review — especially for body-worn- and dash-camera footage and large email productions — have strained a five-person team; staff urged department-level cooperation, better online publication of commonly requested materials and temporary staff support to address a backlog.
City staff explained how requests are processed: the records team conducts a keyword and server search, adds subject-matter staff to the NextRequest workflow, reviews responsive materials for statutory exemptions and applies required redactions. Garcia Gallegos highlighted examples that consume the most staff time, including large email productions, police video that requires privacy redactions and historical land-use records that still require scanning and indexing.
Councilors asked about automation and mental-health supports. Garcia Gallegos and city attorney Erin McSherry said some automated redaction tools exist (Axon’s built-in features for law-enforcement video and pattern-based redaction for documents) but that accuracy requires human review. McSherry said the city is using one-time funds and overtime to hire temporary help to tackle backlog in the short term.
Councilors praised the office’s training outreach: Garcia Gallegos said she and her team trained 222 city employees and elected officials on IPRA compliance and that accident reports are now published online to reduce duplicate requests. She said providing more records proactively online is the “magic wand” to reduce repetitive requests, but that barriers include legacy software, scanning needs and physical records stored offsite.
The presentation closed with a call for departments to respond quickly to NextRequest alerts and to work with records staff to narrow broad requests and identify relevant search terms.
