It’s time for the 2023 Granicus Clerk Virtual Summit — a time for us to gather together to network and share best practices and resources as you continue on your change-making journey. Think of it as a pit stop. This summit is designed to empower municipal and county clerks, record managers, and board secretaries at all levels and sizes of government and give you a little extra fuel to keep moving forward. Specifically, attendees w...

Transparency in public records is more important than ever. New reporting requirements and responsive public record types are putting pressure on staff for fulfillment, including police body cam footage, drone footage, and requests for “any-and-all” emails. How are communities keeping up with demand while, in some cases, spending less time on records than they did pre-pandemic? Join Granicus for a complimentary webinar on how to ac...

We've all been there: a request for records comes in and relevant staff are notified. Staff members gather the records and turn them over to legal for review and/or redactions. But what if the rules that you thought you knew suddenly changed because of questions from the legal department, the materials requested, or the requestor? How do you effectively communicate with others in your organization when everyone is not in alignment? What's the...

Considering streamlining your public records request payments/invoicing process or cost tracking?Join Granicus for a complimentary webinar to learn why GovQA Payments & Invoicing modules will save you time, increase revenue, and help demonstrate return on investment (ROI) with time and materials tracking. The straightforward fee communications build trust and can help you recover costs.Whether you use the GovQA Invoicing & Payments mod...

Public records requests siphon time and resources from your organization's budget, but responding to them promptly is required by law. The more complex the requests, the longer they take to fulfill, leaving fewer resources available for other core missions. In addition, poor public records request processing performance adds risk -- financial, public trust, and litigation risks to name a few. On the flip side, this very public service, when do...

The art of communication is key to public records request management. According to a recent study, approximately one in three people say the most important aspect of customer service is speaking with a knowledgeable and friendly agency representative. Clerks and records managers are often the first, and sometimes only, personnel within an agency that community members interact with. Ensuring that this is a positive experience is important to b...

Every jurisdiction has its excessive requestors--also known as vexatious or serial requesters--that have learned that they are allowed to submit an unlimited number of Public Records requests each day. Although news outlets or media routinely file Public Records/FOIA requests for news stories that benefit the public, they can also be labeled as vexatious requesters due to the sheer volume of requests. Estimates are that the media accounts for...

Public engagement is an important part of creating thriving communities, providing a mechanism for government entities to remain transparent by presenting information, collecting feedback, and engaging in a two-way conversation with their constituents. Public Records Requests (also known as FOIA) is an important component to sharing information and ensuring a spirit of transparency in local government. What many may not realize, however, is th...

Body-worn cameras (BWC), and calls to release their videos, have changed how the public perceives police accountability and transparency putting pressure on public records offices with an increased need for response and need to create policy to meet rising interest.Most police departments don't have the luxury to develop their own policies, and records personnel can find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to responding to public...

Join Granicus online on Thursday, July 7th, and Tuesday, July 26th for their upcoming webinars to hear from veteran records manager, Cindi Mansell, as she discusses topics around the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Walk away from these webinars with tips you can take back to your organization based on Cindi's many years of experience. How to Build the Business Case for FOIA Software Realizing it’s time to modernize through software co...