Boise City Council plans to enhance public records process, aiming for transparency

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A Boise City Council Session was held Tuesday where members discussed a change in the public records request system.

Council members stayed true to their mantra of "There's nothing we can't do better" by making plans to improve the process.

The City of Boise reports over 14,000 public records requests are made yearly. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean spoke about her goal to make the city the most transparent in the state. She and other council members agreed changes to public records requests would show transparency and openness.

In the last six months, a group from eight departments reviewed the records request process to find needed changes.

One councilwoman said, "The process is checking how to minimize the number of employees and manhours used to process each request; to better serve the community."

The group found three areas that could use improvements and what they would be. They say the records retention schedule needs a complete analysis. Implementing new technology would help ensure the fulfillment of requests made, andstaff roles need to be reevaluated to ensure they are effective and necessary.

There are still several unanswered questions: Why are so many requests made every year, who is making them, and what kind of responses will people get?

CBS2 will continue to share information as we get it.

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