Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Records topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Newberg staff defend public-records fees and outline plan to replace ORMS with searchable system
Summary
City recorder Rachel Thomas reported 124 public-records requests in 2025, explained the city charges $60/hour after the first hour (and $400/hour for legal review), and said staff aim to move from the state's ORMS web drawer to a new searchable system by late fall.
City Recorder Rachel Thomas presented an extended report on public-records operations and a proposed fee structure during the July 6 Newberg City Council meeting.
Thomas said the city received 124 records requests in 2025; most took less than an hour and therefore incurred no charge. For requests that exceed one hour of staff time, Thomas proposed a $60/hour flat rate; legal review by in-house or external counsel would be billed at $400/hour. She said those rates are intentionally modest compared with the city's average loaded staff cost (about $71.50/hour) and that payment is required before staff begins work on chargeable requests.
To illustrate operational strain, Thomas presented three anonymized scenarios: (a) a five-year data request involving juvenile records that would have cost an estimated $400,000 and required extensive legal review; (b) a broad email search that would have required more than 24 staff hours and an initial quote of $1,440; and (c) common requests for building files that can usually be fulfilled quickly and free of charge. In instances (a) and (b) Thomas said staff worked with requesters to narrow scope and produce useful data at far lower cost.
Thomas also described records-management work: since 2023 staff have digitized more than 38,000 records and reduced physical storage from hundreds of boxes to fewer than 100. She acknowledged usability problems with the state's ORMS web drawer (hard-to-search index and limited browse features) and said the city is soliciting a third vendor to implement a new system that will add cataloging, AI-assisted metadata entry and browse functions; staff hope to launch the replacement by October or November.
Thomas emphasized transparency and customer service, and said the city offers indexes and self-help links for common searches. She noted that data-aggregation companies make many bulk requests; of 24 aggregator requests last year, only five triggered fees and two paid. For chargeable requests the city will provide an upfront quote, offer ways to narrow scope, and close inactive requests after 60 days if payment or response is not received.
Councilors asked about flags for unpaid requesters, contingencies when staff are out of office, and whether the city can borrow live-translation equipment from the school district for hearings; Thomas said staff block work on unpaid requests until payment, rely on cross-trained staff to provide redundancy, and will explore interagency equipment-sharing while budgeting for permanent captioning or translation features.
What happens next: the city will continue digitization and pursue a new records-management contract with improved search and browse features; fees and payment procedures discussed at the meeting will remain in place pending future council review.
