Commit to a 72-Hour Records Response Habit

Acknowledge and scope a public-records request before the search becomes sprawling. Records intake, clerk office, department liaison, or manager review of broad resident/media requests. When a public-records request arrives with broad wording, I will acknowledge it within 72 hours, name the likely custodians, ask one scope-clarifying question, and document the agreed search terms in the request log. In 3 days, check whether you used the 72-hour acknowledgement on a real or simulated request. A resident requests “all emails about downtown parking” without date range or custodians. A reporter asks for body-camera policy drafts and attachments before the next council meeting.…

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