Inquiring minds want to know what’s happening in the City of New Westminster.
A recent staff report about requests to the city under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act showed the city received 86 requests for information in 2019. That was one less than the 87 requests made in 2018.
Like 2018, New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service was the department that generated the most requests for information in 2019. It was tops with 24 requests for information (down from 27 the year before).
Requests for information from the bylaw and licensing department came in second at 19, a jump from 12 requests in 2018. Departments trailing behind in requests for information were: engineering and engineering operations – 14; building permits and inspections – 12; parks and recreation and finance departments – each with 22; human resources – eight; planning – seven; animal services and legislative services – each with six; information technology and the mayor’s office – each with four; and administration – three.
Of the 86 requests for information made in 2019, 39 were from members of the public. Law firms accounted for 24 requests, followed by the media – 10, companies – five, public bodies – four, unions – two, and insurance adjusters – two.
According to a staff report, as a result of the inquiries made in 2019, 4,372 pages were released. That’s a drop from the 4,475 pages of information released in 2018.
“Only eight requests were responded to with paper documents over the last two years,” said the report. “In all cases, staff met the legislated timelines for responding to requests which is 30 business days (unless further consultations, allowable extension or fees were required.)”
The staff report states the city has spent the last two years focusing on making FOI requests as streamlined and as paperless as possible.
