Any person wishing to request public records of KCRHA should use this form. The KCRHA public records officer or designee will ensure compliance with the Public Records Act, offering the fullest assistance to requestors while also preventing public records requests from causing excessive interference with essential functions of the KCRHA.
If you have a question that does not require a full public records request, please email info@kcrha.org
To make a public records request
Requests should be made in writing, either by using this form, or by letter either mailed or hand delivered during normal business hours to the public records officer at the KCRHA main office. Our office is located at 400 Yesler Way, Suite 600, Seattle, WA 98104.
Requests for public records should include:
- Name of requestor
- Contact information of requestor
- A specific request for identifiable records that is sufficiently specific for the public records officer or designee to locate the records
- Date of request submission
- Whether the requestor would like to inspect or to receive copies of the records.
Please be as specific as possible in describing the records you seek.
Upon receipt of a public records request
- KCRHA will assign it a tracking number with the date of the request, and will keep a log of all such requests using their tracking number.
- The public records officer or designee will evaluate the request according to the nature of the request, volume, and availability of requested records.
- Following the initial evaluation and within five business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer or designee will do one of the following:
- Make the records available, or
- Acknowledge receipt of the request and provide a reasonable estimate of when records or an installment of records will be available (note that this estimate may be revised), or
- Acknowledge receipt of the request, ask the requestor to provide clarification as needed, and to the greatest extent possible provide a reasonable estimate of when records or an installment will be available if the request is not clarified, or
- Deny the request with a written statement of specific reasons.
If the public records officer or designee does not respond in writing within five business days, the requestor should contact the public records officer.
Clarification may be requested via any reasonable method of communication and if provided will be memorialized in writing. If the requestor does not respond to a request for clarification, KCRHA may respond only to those parts of the request that are sufficiently clear for KCRHA to identify responsive records. If the requestor does not respond to a request for clarification and the entire request is unclear, then KCRHA need not further respond to the request.
Electronic Records: KCRHA retains most of its records in electronic format and usually will provide records in electronic format unless a paper copy is requested. The volume of records requested may determine how electronic records will be delivered.
Index: Because of the volume and diversity of records continuously generated by a county-wide administrative oversight agency, and the limited funds and staff available, maintaining a current index of all KCRHA records would be impractical, unduly burdensome, and interfere with the operational work of the KCRHA.
In compliance with RCW 42.56.070, an index of records will not be published online but specific records may be requested, including any indexes that are maintained for agency use.
Charges for Copying: It would be unduly burdensome for KCRHA to calculate its actual costs for providing public records, for the following reasons: the agency does not have a set, singular method of providing records; providing records could involve any number of facilities, services, or staff members; determining actual costs in each instance would require substantial work and divert resources away from timely responding to each request; conducting a cost study would divert limited resources from other essential functions and would not be warranted in light of all the above circumstances; and the statutory rates are reasonable approximations of actual costs. KCRHA therefore adopts the charges set forth in RCW 42.56.120 for providing records. KCRHA will assess charges consistent with the provisions of that statute.
Deposits and Installments: KCRHA may require a requestor to provide an initial deposit of up to ten percent of the estimated charge of providing copies in response to a given request. KCRHA may provide records on an installment basis, and may charge for each installment as it is provided. If an installment is offered to a requestor but not claimed or reviewed within 30 days or some other reasonable period of time specified by KCRHA, the agency will not be obligated to fulfill the balance of the request.
Notice to Others: If the requested records contain information that may affect the rights of others and may be exempt from disclosure, the public records officer or designee may, prior to providing the records, give notice to those whose rights may be affected, including by providing a copy of the request.
Exemptions: If KCRHA believes that a record is exempt from disclosure, the public records officer or designee will state the specific exemption and provide a brief written explanation of why the record or a portion of the record is being withheld. This may include personal information of tenants or other clients under RCW 42.56.230. If only a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, the agency will redact the exempt portions and provide the nonexempt portions. For informational purposes, following is a non-exhaustive list of laws other than the Public Records Act (chapter 42.56 RCW) that the agency believes exempts or prohibits disclosure of specific information or records of KCRHA:
- Privileged communications, including attorney-client privilege, RCW 5.60.060
Order of Requests: KCRHA will process requests in the order and manner determined to be the most efficient and fair among all requests and requestors.
Automated Requests: KCRHA may deny or consider for ordering purposes any records request that the agency reasonably believes was generated by a bot, computer program, script, or hack.
Closure: When the requestor either withdraws the request, fails to clarify an entirely unclear request, fails to make payment, or fails to claim or review an installment, the public records officer or designee will close the request and notify the requester of closure. When all requested records have been provided, the public records officer or designee will close the request and notify the requester of closure. A description of the outcome will be memorialized in KCRHA’s public records log.
Agency Review: Any person who objects to KCRHA’s response to their public records request may petition in writing to the public records officer for an administrative review. The petition should identify the public records request and the agency’s response, and explain the basis for the requestor’s objection and the administrative remedy requested. The public records officer shall promptly consider the petition and either affirm or modify the agency’s response. The public records officer shall endeavor to respond to the petition within two business days or as soon as practicable.
