Public Records Request

The City Clerk serves as the official Custodian of Public Records. The City Clerk’s office maintains a public record tracking system for processing requests. The City Clerk’s Office will acknowledge the request and forward it to the appropriate City Department. Election records, agenda packets, minutes, ordinances, and resolutions are available on our website allowing for more accessible and more transparent access to the public.

DEFINING PUBLIC RECORDS: 

Public Records means all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in conjunction with the transaction of official business of any agency.  

RESPONSE TIME:

Once the City Clerk’s Office has received your request, you will be sent an acknowledgment email through our JustFOIA system. Staff will then route your request to the appropriate department or the custodian of the documents being requested. In accordance with F.S. 119, a reasonable amount of time to retrieve records and respond will generally depend upon the volume of materials requested and exemptions. If the request is extensive the City Clerk's Office will reach out to the requestor and notify them with an estimated time of completion and any associated fees.

HANDLING REQUESTS:

Requests are not required to be in writing and the person making the request is not required to identify him/herself nor state the reason for the request. Please note that if you do not submit some form of contact information & prefer to remain anonymous, the City will have no way to notify you of the status of your request, any needed clarification, estimates, invoices, and payments if necessary. You will need to capture your request number and security key to check the status of your request.

If the City Clerk’s Office deems your request to be too broad or general you will be contacted and asked to provide more details and/or search terms to complete your request.

The City is required to provide access to public records; it is not required to provide information from the records, to provide records on a continuing basis to a requestor, to answer questions made from public record requests, or to create new records to fulfill your request.

Public records may be inspected and examined by any person desiring to do so at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision.   Please contact the City Clerk’s Office to schedule a time to come in. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding identified City holidays.

PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTIONS: 

Some public records are confidential or exempt from public disclosure. Section 119.07(1), F.S., lists certain records that are exempt from public disclosure, such as:

• Social Security Numbers
• Medical information
• Bank account numbers
• Law Enforcement, Fire, and Code Enforcement Personnel, home addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses including information for their spouse and children.
• Requests made on behalf of litigation
  • The Legal Department must review all such public records prior to disclosure.

Requests for documents that may contain exempt information may be delayed until the records can be reviewed and redacted as necessary.

COSTS:

Should your request need reviewing and/or is extensive, the City will charge the hourly rate of the employee(s) involved in completing the request. The City defines “extensive” as any time over 30 minutes spent providing this service. The first 30 minutes of work are free. Services that may incur costs include search and/or retrieval, redacting confidential information, copying, and reviewing.

For large requests, (those requiring more than $25 in copy and retrieval charges), the City Clerk’s office will require an advance deposit before starting the request. The deposit will be a minimum of half of the estimated fee, it is non-refundable and will be put toward the total amount for the request. The remaining balance for the request is due at the time the request is completed.

If you want physical copies for your request, the fees are as follows:

a. Fifteen (15) cents for each one-sided copy of the public record. [Five or fewer copies free]

b. Twenty (20) cents for each two-sided copy.

c. Fifty (50) cents for each copy of CD or DVD.

d. Three (3) dollars for each copy of data on a USB Flash Drive.

e. One (1) dollar for each certified copy of a public record.

Payment can be in the form of cash or check payable to the City of St. Pete Beach, 155 Corey Avenue, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706, ATTN: Office of the City Clerk.

For any requestors that have requested records and have not paid in full for those records, the Clerk will not process another public records request until the outstanding balance is paid in full.