06/17/2026
The City of Independence is aware of comments made during Monday night's City Council meeting regarding the City's public records request process and would like to provide additional context.
Public record requests are processed in the order they are received, and many require legal review. The request, currently ahead of several pending requests, was submitted in February and initially included more than 21,000 electronic records that must be retrieved, reviewed, and sorted before records can be released. City staff have been actively working through the February request for several months and have completed the review of more than 14,000 electronic records, with approximately 7,125 remaining.
In addition to being standard practice, under City Council Resolution No. 6764, emails, which account for the majority of electronic records, are required to be reviewed by legal staff prior to release to ensure compliance with Missouri law and the protection of confidential information. The City does not have legal staff dedicated to reviewing record requests, so review is handled by staff who are also responsible for many other tasks and duties.
The City remains committed to transparency and continues to process record requests as efficiently as possible while meeting its legal obligations. We appreciate the public's patience as staff work through requests in the order they are received.
Access to City Records Open Records Requests Police Records: To request police records including a copy of a police report, body cam footage, 911 calls, or information on how to obtain a criminal history, please contact the Records Unit at [email protected] City Records: All other record...
