Sitka Assembly to take up resident's public records appeal Aug. 25

A Sitka resident's appeal of a public records determination reaches the City and Borough of Sitka Assembly on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The Assembly is scheduled to act on an appeal filed by Austin W. Cranford, who is challenging Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson's determination on a records request he filed June 23. The item sits under New Business on the agenda for the regular meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in Assembly Chambers.

The agenda does not state what records Cranford sought or what Peterson determined.

The Municipal Clerk's Office handles all records requests for the city and borough. Requests are routed to the Deputy Clerk, forwarded to the responsible department, then reviewed by the deputy clerk and the legal department before release. The city's stated timeframe for filling a request is 10 business days, and fees may apply. The city says on its website that it "provides access to public records, with certain exceptions, under reasonable rules during regular hours."

The clerk's office reported more than 152 individual records requests in FY2021, a 40% increase from the prior period, and 130 requests in FY2022, 54 of them police-related.

Records access is contested beyond Sitka. At an Alaska State House State Affairs Committee hearing on April 21, journalist Courtney Warszawski told members that local variation is the problem. "There are 165 incorporated communities in the state, which means 165 different interpretations of the state law and 165 different interpretations of what their own public records ordinances will be," Warszawski said.

State regulations give requesters denied records a separate path, including a written appeal to the agency head within 60 working days and the option to seek an injunction in superior court.

The agenda's first public comment period covers off-agenda matters only. A second period, listed after New Business, allows testimony on any item, limited to three minutes per person.