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County adopts updated public records policy with centralized intake and portal planned
Summary
The Board adopted an updated public records policy to improve clarity, designate the county paralegal as central intake, and plan an online portal to submit and track requests; County Attorney Jonathan Sink said the policy does not establish new fees.
Cleveland County commissioners adopted a revised public records policy Sept. 16 designed to increase clarity, improve transparency and streamline internal handling of public-records requests. County Attorney Jonathan Sink presented the policy, which designates the county paralegal as the central intake point and outlines submission methods by mail, email and a planned online portal.
Sink told the board the legal department will provide oversight to ensure compliance with North Carolina public-records law and that requests involving the board will include the County Attorney. He emphasized the policy does not change fee amounts and said, in response to a commissioner question, there are "no proposed fees with the amended policy, only actual costs incurred by the county." Commissioners thanked staff and adopted the policy unanimously.
The changes are intended to reduce inconsistencies across departments, make responsibilities clear, and accelerate responses, with the county planning an online portal to allow requesters to submit and track requests electronically in the future.
