Last year Yakima County responded to 2,453 requests for public documents. Many of those had multiple parts, each requiring research of thousands of documents.
For example, one recent request in the county’s planning department contained 10 boxes of documents.
Answering requests isn’t always simple. Documents must be reviewed to redact confidential information, a process that could take weeks or months depending on the size and scope of the request, said the county’s public records officer, Stormy Miller.
“People think they’re just going to put in their record requests and get their documents — and it’s not that easy,” she said.