Clermont council adopts ordinance barring commercial resale of town public records by non-residents

The Clermont Town Council on March 12 adopted an ordinance that bars commercial entities from mass-requesting town public records for resale. Attorney Bob Lutz presented the draft ordinance and said the town has seen mass requests seeking insurance and bid data; the ordinance is modeled on approaches other municipalities have used to reduce burdens from commercial, non-resident data harvesters.

Councilor Mike Beam moved to waive the first-reading requirement and consider adoption; Councilor Frank Lemaire seconded. The motion passed by unanimous roll-call vote. Councilor Lemaire then moved to adopt the Ordinance to Prohibit the use of Clermont Public Records for Commercial Use; Councilor Tim Lambard seconded and the council again approved the ordinance unanimously. The ordinance was signed and recorded as Ordinance 20260312-001.

Council discussion clarified the scope: the ordinance is aimed at commercial uses by non-residents seeking to profit from the sale of town data and is not intended to restrict residents from requesting their own records. Attorney Lutz credited the clerk’s research into other municipal ordinances for helping draft the town’s version. The transcript does not include the full ordinance text; the council relied on the draft provided prior to the meeting and signed the ordinance during the session.

Staff indicated (in discussion) that the ordinance will change how the clerk’s office handles mass requests and that Attorney Lutz will distribute the signed ordinance to appropriate parties. The council did not identify any exceptions beyond resident access and did not vote on amending the ordinance at the meeting.