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City Attorney Goodrich explained that the person challenging the action would have to prove <br />there was a conflict of interest by having the decision voided by the Court. The court would look <br />at the issue, determine if the Councilmember in question made the deciding vote, and determine <br />what the conflict is. They will also look at the practicality of the conflict because <br />Councilmembers are all residents and all own land in the City. <br /> <br />2) Public Access Business List and Dissemination of Public Information <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich provided the Council with State Statute relating to the access of <br />government data. He explained that all government data collected, created, received, maintained <br />or disseminated by a state agency, political subdivision, or statewide system shall be public <br />unless classified by statute, or temporary classification as nonpublic or protected nonpublic, or <br />w/th respect to data on individuals, as private or confidential. The Council was made aware of <br />some complaints from the local businesses regarding a business list that is provided by the City <br />upon a person's request and on the City's website. That business list is not listed as an <br />exception, therefore, it is considered public information and available to anyone who wants to <br />see it. There are some exceptions such as unpublished numbers, emergency contact information, <br />etc. Mr. Goodrich emphasized that staff has to be very careful to disseminate what is public <br />information and what is private. The City has adopted guidelines and procedures for data <br />privacy, which is guideline on how the City is to react to data requests by individuals. Any <br />person has the right to copy and inspect public data and have an explanation of the meaning of <br />the data. The person does not have to provide a reason for the request and the request can be <br />verbal or written. Generally the City requires written requests so they have a copy of what was <br />requested. Requests are to be responded to in a reasonable amount of time and fees may be <br />charged for copies or if a lot of staff time is required to research information. <br /> <br />Councilmember Kurak inquired as to what is considered a reasonable amount of time for staff to <br />provide the information. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich replied that it would depend on the nature of the item, but typically seven <br />to ten days would be reasonable. <br /> <br />City Administrator Norman stated that requests for minutes are much different than research <br />issues, which take a lot of staff time. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig inquired if the City was in the business of conducting research. <br /> <br />City Administrator Norman replied that having staff research requests by citizens is getting very <br />expensive. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that no one at City Hall has the title of research. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich stated that there is a fine line between researching information and <br />providing information. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session/November 10, 2003 <br /> Page 3 of 7 <br /> <br /> <br />