The New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service has been generating the most Freedom of Information requests from city hall, but a couple of other departments aren’t far behind.
Staff recently presented city council with a report on requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for 2017 and 2018. The report showed the city received 87 requests for records under the act in 2018, which was more than the 66 requested in 2017, 65 in 2016 and 72 in 2015.
“Requests have increased 24 per cent over the last three years,” said the report.
According to the report, the city received 27 requests for records relating to the fire department in 2018, closely followed by engineering and engineering operations at 26. Next up were planning (16), building permits and inspection (14) and bylaw and licensing (12), with other departments trailing far behind: parks and recreation (seven); legislative series (six); finance (four); animal services (four); the mayor’s office (two); administration (two); communications (two); human resources (two); and information technology (one).
New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service also topped the list of requests in 2017 with 17, followed by building permits and inspection at 16 and engineering and engineering operations at 14. Planning (eight), animal services (seven), parks and recreation, legislative services and finance (three each) bylaw and licensing, and communications (two each), and administration and the mayor’s office (one each) rounded out the list of requests in 2017.
“The requests for the fire department jumped in 2017 and 2018 as applicants are increasingly asking for photographs, notes and audio tapes beyond the incident report,” said the staff report.
Staff attributed the increase in FOI requests in 2018 to it being a municipal election year and an increase in public interest around some of the “complex projects” happening in the city.
Of the 87 requests for information in 2018, the vast majority were from the public (50), followed by law firms (19), companies (eight), media (six), insurance adjustors (three) and public bodies (one).
