Editor’s Note: Sunshine Request makes no claim as to the veracity of any statements or information contained in any of the requests, or public records, we receive.
01/15/24. Editor’s Note to Sender: The submission above has been marked as completed.
1. The sender has indicated in the “start date / end date” field that the requested info should cover a 32 year period from January 01, 1992 through January 2024. As it’s written, we find that the request is overly broad.
In our experience, we think it’s unlikely the City would be able query the records in that manner (“all City ordinances that existed on the first day of every month since January 01, 1992“). However, if he City does have access to that info, we feel it’s likely given the time period that some records will only be available to inspect in-person or make paper copies.
Additionally — we have found that users on our website occasionally make a mistake when filling out the “Subject” ,”Message”, and “Start / End Dates” of our request form. With this in mind we’d like to confirm if perhaps the sender actually meant to request this info just as of January 2024 ?
Clarifying this info will help to greatly narrow the scope of the request, and will also reduce the amount of time it takes the Disclosing Agency (as well as our team) to process the request. We’re happy to send in a new request once it’s revised and resubmitted to our site.
2. Also — of note. We’ve been hearing for a while that the City is either considering (or may be currently in the process of still making) improvements to their website. It’s not entirely clear what those updates are, or when they may be completed.
We checked the City’s website to see if we could locate the requested info. We could not. Currently, the City’s website does not have a “search function”: https://cityofnorthwest.com/
We also performed a Google search to see if any of their ordinances are already on Municode (a site that lists ordinances / codes). The City of Northwest, NC doesn’t seem to have a page on that site, but Brunswick County does: https://library.municode.com/nc/brunswick_county/codes/code_of_ordinances
If you are still unable to locate the records you’d like to receive — then please feel free to revise and submit a new request through our site. Please clearly indicate any specific details, subject, message, dates, record types, City / County / State, etc. about the exact public records that are being requested.
Sunshine Request will not fulfill the following types of requests:
☀️ Requests that are incomplete, non-specific, or vague.
While we do proofread requests we receive for general spelling and clarity, we may choose not to fulfill the request if it is incomplete, or it is unclear what specific information the requester hopes to receive. In this case, the sender may rewrite and resubmit the request.
It’s the requester’s responsibility to write the request in a manner that clearly specifies a record that is being requested, and to what government entity it should be sent.
☀️ Please be specific:
It is important that what you are requesting is specific and reasonable, and is an actionable records request. Please specify the exact type of records you’d like to receive, rather than any “possible” or “potential” info that could be searched. Remember that the larger your request, the more time it usually takes to fulfill. Specificity will often help reduce the amount of time needed to process the request.
It is important that a request has a clearly written and complete Subject and Message, and also specifies the Government Entity (or entities), City and/or County, and State to which the request should be sent. If applicable, please also include any responsive timelines for the info that should be requested.
While we do proofread requests we receive for general spelling and clarity, we may choose not to fulfill the request if it is incomplete, or it is unclear what specific info the requester hopes to receive, or if it violates our policies.
Before submitting a request, please take a moment to review our tips for How to write and make a successful request. If you have additional questions about our site or how to make requests, please check out our FAQs or Policies page.
☀️ Code of Conduct: Please do not use Sunshine Request or any of the results of public records requests to harass government entities / employees, businesses, private citizens / individuals, or otherwise.
☀️ Please note that we cannot pay any fees / associated costs related to any of the requests on our site. If it is not possible for a Government Agency to process our request without incurring fees, then it is the responsibility of that Agency to let us know what the potential costs may be — at which point we will ask that they cease processing the request. We will mark the request as “Completed” on our site, and the sender can contact the Government Agency directly, should they wish to further pursue a request.
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