County attorney seeks records clerk and enterprise records system after rising public‑records requests

County Attorney Walker Boyd told the Board of County Commissioners that inspection-of-public-records‑act (IPRA) requests have risen and the county attorney’s office needs an additional records clerk and an enterprise records management system to handle the volume.

Boyd provided monthly and annual counts: in 2021 the office processed 893 records requests, 963 in 2022, approximately 1,164 in 2023, about 1,120 in 2024, and a year‑to‑date count of roughly 463 requests. He said one staffer currently coordinates, reviews and produces records and that automation and software will produce efficiency gains but cannot replace the FTE need.

Why this matters: A growing volume of public‑records requests affects legal workload, departmental response times and the county’s ability to comply with disclosure timelines. Boyd said the proposed enterprise content manager (records management software) will centralize records, reduce physical storage and make internal searches and public responses more efficient.

Boyd noted that outside counsel contracts are on a four‑year procurement cycle; rates last set four years ago no longer match market rates, and he expects higher hourly rates in new contracts. He also said the records clerk will support both IPRA responses and litigation discovery tasks (collecting, assembling and producing documents for lawsuits).

Ending: The board asked clarifying questions about services and the large proposed increase in the legal services line; Boyd and manager Schaefer said the increase is driven primarily by the one‑time enterprise records management purchase and anticipated higher outside counsel rates.