Neighborhoods' record request
Last month, the Greensboro Neighborhood Congress asked city council to adopt a policy for handling public records requests that ensures people get what they ask for in a timely fashion.
Council members seemed willing to consider it. They asked the city attorney to review the neighborhood recommendations and report back on the city's current procedures.
Right now, the city doesn't have any written policy regarding public records requests (although they must follow the procedures detailed under North Carolina state law.) The city currently does not have one single person, or ombudsman, responsible for monitoring all requests -- one of the recommendations made by the neighborhood organization.
This week City Manager Mitchell Johnson made his own recommendation: let the new assistant city manager figure it out.
The manager's office currently has an open position, which Johnson plans to fill with a person who will be his chief of staff and a city communications expert. That spot might be an ideal ombudsman of public records.
Johnson could hire someone to fill the slot as soon as this month.
"I would recommend that we continue to follow out current practices until our new (assistant city manager) is on board with a goal of meeting or exceeding the timelines as proposed by the Neighborhood congress," Johnson told council in a memo.
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