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San Angelo city clerk warns public information requests are overwhelming two-person office
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Summary
City Clerk Heather told a council workshop that a surge in public information requests (PIRs) and inconsistent records practices are straining the city clerk's two-person office and prompting proposals for digitization, standardized records policy and added staff or shared resources.
City Clerk Heather told the San Angelo City Council workshop that the city clerk’s office receives a growing volume of public information requests and currently operates with only two staff, creating a capacity problem for timely records delivery and continuity.
She said the office had received 538 public information requests since Oct. 1 and is pacing for a roughly 20% increase over last year. "We use GovQA for our public information requests," Heather said, and noted the department relies on that portal to track timing and responses. She told council that "my deputy spends about 80% of her day" processing PIRs and she spends a smaller, but substantial, portion of her time on requests.
The issue matters because PIR demand ties directly to transparency and legal compliance. Heather outlined a SWOT assessment that flagged strengths — high compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and use of systems such as GovQA and CivicClerk — and weaknesses: inconsistent citywide records practices, fragmented storage, and limited staff. She said Laserfiche scanning the city started in 2021 using ARPA funds but that the city uses Laserfiche only in a limited capacity now. "If we were able to expand our licensure or cloud storage with them, then that could potentially be an avenue," she said.
Council members pressed for practical fixes and timelines. Heather proposed a one-year goal to create a citywide records-liaison network and publish five high-demand record types online; a three-year goal to implement a centralized digital records program and add a records analyst position; and a five-year aim to finalize the centralized program and build continuity for elections. She estimated scanning and full system population would be a multi-year, 3–5 year effort and cited an annual Laserfiche cloud-storage fee of about $7,000 for the partial service currently used.
Heather recommended using the workshop to identify priority records for immediate online publication, and urged council members to mark presentations during the budget process they want prioritized. She also noted legal escalation for PIR disputes would go to the Texas Attorney General if internal legal review did not resolve a request.
Council members asked whether digitization and new portal features could be phased in to relieve staff pressure. Heather said some short-term wins — standardized records training and restoring a small set of frequently requested documents to the website — could be done quickly; full digitization would require sustained staff time and funding.
If approved, Heather said, the changes would reduce repeated manual searches and ease staff burnout, but she cautioned that implementation requires both staff capacity and funding decisions during the budget cycle. She emphasized that the clerk's office is the city’s front line for transparency and recommended council weigh investments in software, staffing and training to protect continuity and compliance.
Ending
Heather summarized: "Create a citywide records liaison network and identify five high-demand record types to publish online" as a first-year target. Council members and staff agreed to follow up during budget discussions to evaluate funding and timelines for the proposed digital records program and possible additional clerical or records analyst staffing.
