The city of McKinney now accepts public records requests online.[/caption]The city of McKinney is setting the bar high for surrounding entities as it launches a new public record request process with GovQA.The new initiative makes the public record request process simpler and available entirely online. The software, which comes with an annual price of $17,400 to the city, tracks public record requests throughout multiple departments and develops a city-wide standard for processing the requests and allows the city to process the requests in a much faster manner. The software also allows the public to access previous open records requests at any time.Michael Edwards, IT records supervisor, said the most common records requests include incident or event reports from the police department."The public archive section provides citizens with an opportunity to receive information that might be frequently requested by other citizens," he said. "The archive gives a way for the city of McKinney to leverage responses to past requests when appropriate without the citizens having to go through the process of submitting a request and waiting for a response for those items."With the new software, those who make public record requests are able to submit a public record request online, track the progress online and receive updates by email. The city will continue to process public record requests received in writing, but written requests will be entered into the GovQA system internally for thorough record keeping.According to city officials, the city processed more than 1,200 open records request last year. Officials said the new system is a big leap in helping to keep up with the increased demand for public information as the city continues to grow.“The city is excited to be using GovQA software because it increases staff efficiencies and provides a platform to share information easier between departments while providing better transparency with our citizens,” said Jose Madrigal, deputy city manager, in a news release. “Where applicable, the system will allow users to create personal log-in IDs to access records pulled for them specifically. For similar requests made by multiple requestors, we can import the information that has already been pulled, rather than having to start an entirely new records search, all while keeping the information specific to the requestor’s needs.”To submit a public records request, visit the
open records request web page.
The city of McKinney now accepts public records requests online.[/caption]The city of McKinney is setting the bar high for surrounding entities as it launches a new public record request process with GovQA.The new initiative makes the public record request process simpler and available entirely online. The software, which comes with an annual price of $17,400 to the city, tracks public record requests throughout multiple departments and develops a city-wide standard for processing the requests and allows the city to process the requests in a much faster manner. The software also allows the public to access previous open records requests at any time.Michael Edwards, IT records supervisor, said the most common records requests include incident or event reports from the police department."The public archive section provides citizens with an opportunity to receive information that might be frequently requested by other citizens," he said. "The archive gives a way for the city of McKinney to leverage responses to past requests when appropriate without the citizens having to go through the process of submitting a request and waiting for a response for those items."With the new software, those who make public record requests are able to submit a public record request online, track the progress online and receive updates by email. The city will continue to process public record requests received in writing, but written requests will be entered into the GovQA system internally for thorough record keeping.According to city officials, the city processed more than 1,200 open records request last year. Officials said the new system is a big leap in helping to keep up with the increased demand for public information as the city continues to grow.“The city is excited to be using GovQA software because it increases staff efficiencies and provides a platform to share information easier between departments while providing better transparency with our citizens,” said Jose Madrigal, deputy city manager, in a news release. “Where applicable, the system will allow users to create personal log-in IDs to access records pulled for them specifically. For similar requests made by multiple requestors, we can import the information that has already been pulled, rather than having to start an entirely new records search, all while keeping the information specific to the requestor’s needs.”To submit a public records request, visit the open records request web page.
