Earlier this month, students in Mercer University’s Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism sent open records requests to agencies in Macon-Bibb, Houston, Jones and Monroe counties in an effort to check their compliance with Georgia’s law and gauge their accessibility to members of the public. You can see a list of all the grades here.
Agency: Macon Water Authority
Records that were requested: Water Infrastructure of 1501 Mercer University Dr, Macon, Ga 31207
When do you first hear back from the agency? The request was sent on Oct. 1 and I received an automatic response the same day that confirmed receipt of the request. I received the requested records on Oct. 8.
Did agency request a fee? The agency did not request a fee.
Describe the response: The confirmation of the request stated to allow the agency three business days to follow up. They provided contact information directly from the department if there were additional questions or concerns.
Assign a grade for contact/process: A. The Macon Water Authority receives an A for its process in filing an open record request. Their website offered a link to an online portal where documents of maps and infrastructure could be requested. The filing was effortless with few questions for the agency to acquire the exact information being asked of.
Assign a grade for response: B. The agency’s overall compliance with the open records law receives a grade of a B. An additional reminder was sent to the agency a week after the request was confirmed. While the three-day record law was exceeded, the records were provided the next day in a file of 32 documents.
Grading scale for the ease of contacting agency staff and finding or filing for public records.
A: Agency uses an online portal or has a clearly defined process or contact on its website for requesting public records. An “A” agency may also readily provide the most commonly requested records on its website, including agendas and meeting minutes.
B: Agency has some public information online such as meeting agendas or meeting times, but additional information on how to request public information is not available. There is contact information available for staff.
C: Agency website has contact information for staff but nothing specific about how to request public information.
D: Agency has limited contact information on its website but it is not clearly labeled and/or easily accessible.
F: Agency contact information or how to get public records is not available on the website.
Grade scale for agency’s overall responsiveness and compliance with open records law
A: Provided records within the three-day window or less.
B Acknowledgedf the request within the three-day requirement, but records were provided after three days.
C: Acknowledged the request but then put forth a long timetable for response or requested a high fee or retrieval price for what should be a digital record and/or PDF that could be emailed.
D: Acknowledged the request but no further information or follow-up.
F: No response.
