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Have you ever wondered how you can get information from the city? Let’s say you want to know how many business licenses have been issued to the city, and the contact information for those applications. Maybe you also want to know the status of a current project. There is a process in place that will allow residents to receive public records from the city for little to no cost to the public.
One of the tasks that the City Recorder has to handle are requests made by residents for public records. These requests are called GRAMA requests, and can be submitted by anyone that wants to view City related records, communications or information. Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) requests are defined and covered in Section 63G, Chapter 2 of the Utah code.
Fionnuala Kofoed (Finn), the Eagle Mountain City Recorder is the one responsible for fielding those requests. Finn said that Eagle Mountain processed a total of 18 GRAMA requests during 2016. The majority of them were provided free of charge to the requester. If the request takes less than 15 minutes for the City Recorder to process, then there is not a charge. One of the 2016 requests took some time to process and had a price tag of $375.66.
Once a request is received, Finn will first find out what City Department would have/hold the record. She then requests the record from that department. Once she receives the record, she then determines if the record is considered private or public. If the record is considered private, then the request is denied. If it is considered public, then the GRAMA request is granted, and the records are given to the requester, once the fee is paid if any is required.
If you would like to do a GRAMA request for something from the city, you can go to the City Website to get the form and some more details. They have the information on who and how here: http://eaglemountaincity.org/departments/city-recorder/request-a-record
Some people would ask why do you want to do a GRAMA request from the city. As a reporter, and resident, I find that GRAMA requests shed a lot of light on the inner workings of the City Government. If you have a question about what conversations were made between individuals on specific topics, or if you would like copies of permits, and other documents filed with the City, making an official GRAMA request is the way to go. I have personally filed several GRAMA requests over the years and have found the information to be very helpful. For example, every election year, after the deadline to declare you are running for office, I will do a GRAMA request to request a copy of all of the declaration forms that were filed. I can then contact each of the individuals that are running for office to answer surveys, and get to know them better. I will be doing the same thing this year, and will be making that data available to the public through cedarvalleysentinel.com.
There are also a lot of other entities that use GRAMA requests as well. One example is United Fire Authority, the entity that Eagle Mountain uses for Fire/Medical emergency services. If you want a copy of an incident report, statistics on calls, or other data from them, you will be required to fill out a GRAMA request for the records.
Additional Resources
Utah Code 63G-2
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.