In addition to operating in line with legal mandates to make public records available, the City of Bellingham's customer service philosophy upholds an essential democratic principle: the people's right to know.
Bellingham Mayor Mark Asmundson said it is an honor and a privilege for him to be an elected official in Washington State, where for decades aggressive "sunshine laws" have preserved the people's right to know. He takes this right very seriously, and fosters it in his employees.
"I am proud to lead an organization that respects this principle in daily operations. Employees at all levels not only meet the legal requirements, but routinely go above and beyond the law to provide people with easy access to city government information."
Asmundson said one of the many ways he ensures city government remains open and accessible is by posting all kinds of public records on the city's website: www.cob.org. Here is a wealth of information: all city contracts, all requests for proposals, agendas and minutes for City Council and many other meetings, Hearing Examiner decisions, and much more.
City government information also can be obtained by asking city staff what is available on a particular topic of interest. If the request is simple, people usually get what they ask for on the spot. More complex requests may require research, and in some cases making a formal public disclosure request simplifies our research efforts.
Adelle Ringus, the city’s public records officer, said in 2005 she received 122 formal public disclosure requests and responded to each one. To date in 2006, the City of Bellingham has received 31 disclosure requests.
"It is rare that we deny a request, although there are times when the city does not have the records that are requested," she said. City officials do not track time or dollars spent dealing with disclosure requests, though Ringus said among her many duties at the city, "some days are filled entirely with disclosure matters."
Ringus said the time it takes to respond to an individual request depends on the complexity of the request (responsive records may be held in multiple departments), amount of internal review necessary to formulate a response, whether we need clarification from the requester to proceed, or how long it takes to identify/locate/assemble requested records.
She said that since the city is required to respond within five business days (day one is the first business day after receipt of a request), notification to the requester within this time frame is always provided. Some responses take longer to complete, and that is indicated to the requester in the initial response.
