City Clerk

The city charges $3.00 per each document notarized.

In compliance with RCW 42.56, a public records response must be made within five business days. According to general statute, RCW 1.12.040, the day the request is received does not count as one of the five business days.

In general, public records that are exempt from public disclosure are those in the categories listed in RCW 42.56.230 through 42.56.280. Reference must be made to this statute to determine on a case-by-case basis whether a particular record is exempt. When a city denies a request for disclosure of a public record, it must identify the specific statutory exemption upon which the denial is based and provide a brief explanation of how that exemption applies. In addition, certain statutes outside of the public records law also prohibit disclosure of particular records (www.mrsc.org).

Although there is no Washington case that has determined whether a duty to create an otherwise nonexistent document exists under RCW 42.56, there is a federal law on this issue. Under the Freedom of Information Act, an agency is not required to create a record which is otherwise non-existent.