Public Records Request

The Finance Director/City Clerk and the Finance Department have the responsibility to manage and maintain the City's official records. All requests for public records shall be made in writing and delivered by mail or electronically through the City's online Public Records Request Form (PDF).

As per Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 42.56520, the City shall respond promptly to your request. Within five days after receiving a request, the City will either:

• Provide you with said record(s).
• Acknowledge your request and give you a reasonable estimate of how long it will take to respond.
• Deny your request in writing, with the reasons for denial. The City will tell you the specific exemption of other law it relies upon for the denial.

Public Records Request Procedure

• The City of Washougal does not retain an index of records, due to the fact that it would be unduly burdensome or interfere with agency operations. The magnitude and diversity of six City departments with an even greater number of divisions/subdivisions, has resulted in the creation and use of many different computer systems, programs and information retaining systems which would be extremely difficult, if not physically impossible, to compile into a single index.
• Once an inquiry comes in regarding records, staff can then direct the applicant to the Public Records Request form. This form can be found via the City's web page, as well as in various office buildings. Applicant will need to complete form and submit to the City Clerk's Office where the request can be tracked.
• The City Clerk's Office will then scan and email the complete application back to the department for processing. The department(s) will need to let the City Clerk's Office know the approximate time to full the request and how they intend to fill it (electronically or copying).
• While the department(s) pulls records for the applicant, the City Clerk's Office will be notifying the applicant of the estimated time of arrival. The City has 5 days from the time of application to notify the applicant. In those 5 days, the City will either:
  • Provide you with said record(s).
  • Acknowledge your request and give you a reasonable estimate of how long it will take to respond.
  • Deny your request in writing, with the reasons for denial. The City will tell you the specific exemption of other law it relies upon for the denial.
• If electronically, staff will CC (carbon copy) in your City Clerk's Office so that they may be in the loop with correspondence of the request.
• If hard copies are produced, please keep City Clerk Office informed of the timeline it will take to fill request. Hard copies are $0.15 per page. Engineering pages are $6 per page. CDs/DVDs are $10 The City may charge all costs directly incident to shipping such public records, including but not limited to the cost of postage or delivery charges and the cost of any container or envelope. If records are outsourced, then those fees are also passed onto the applicant.
• If the requested items will produce a large amount of paper, staff will contact the applicant with a cost estimate. Also staff will break the requested jobs up into 3 to 4 batches, also informing the applicant of this. The City of Washougal's process is, once the 1st batch has been paid for, is when the 2nd batch can be started. If the first batch is never picked up after 20 days, then the request is considered abandoned and the City is not obligated to fulfill the balance of the request. If the applicant wishes to reinstate the request, they will need to submit a new request; where timelines will start from the beginning.
• Records are available for viewing during regular business hours. However, it is in the best interest of the applicant to make the request in advance, so the City may have appropriate records available from every source possible. In order to safely maintain records from loss or damage, applicants may not remove any public records from the building for viewing or copying purposes.
• Police and Fire are exempt from certain requirements within the RCW pertaining to Public Records Request. Please contact them directly.