Open Record Request

Open Records Requests are received by our City Clerk.  

The Georgia Open Records Act, § 50-18-70, et seq, outlines the process for how members of the public can request and inspect governmental records. According to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 (b)(2), the term “public record” includes “all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, computer-based or generated information, data, data fields, or similar material prepared and maintained or received by an agency or by a private person or entity in the performance of a service or function for or on behalf of an agency or when such documents have been transferred to a private person or entity by an agency for storage or future governmental use.”

Not all governmental records are public records. No public officer or agency must prepare a new report, summary, or compilation if no such record exists when a member of the public submits an Open Records Request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (j). Even if a record exists at the time of the request, state law may treat some or all of the information contained in such record as exempt from disclosure or confidential.

The Georgia Open Records Act outlines applicable exemptions in O.C.G. A. § 50-18-72, and numerous confidentiality statutes in federal and state law may apply to an Open Records Request.