The City Clerk’s Office mission is to support the strategic direction and leadership of the City organization and facilitate accessible, open and transparent government. The City Clerk’s Office does this through supporting City Council and the City Manager; maintaining, administering and managing public records; managing the public hearing process and enabling communication, information sharing and participation by citizens.
Department Mission
Support the strategic direction and leadership of the City organization and facilitate open, accessible and transparent government.
Department Goals
- To support the City Council in their public policy setting role and the City Manager in administering operations and the legislative process;
- To facilitate communication and information sharing among the public, the Council, and our City colleagues;
- To conduct open public hearings as part of established land use and other public processes;
- To facilitate participation by citizens in their government
Metric 1: Effective preparation of Council minutes
Accurate minutes are necessary to documenting the actions taken by the City Council. Effectively prepared draft minutes go through little or no modification prior to adoption.
How was this calculated?
Draft minutes are produced and placed on the consent agenda within 3 weeks of the related City Council meeting. This metric is calculated by the number of modifications requested by a City Councilmember prior to adoption.
Data:
Why is this important?
Effective preparation of minutes shows a high level of proficiency of staff and accurately communicates necessary information to the citizens of Bellevue in a timely manner. Over the past four years, this value has remained steady, with small dips down.
What are the next steps?
Our department will evaluate the process for preparing Council minutes, to determine opportunities for improvement.
Contact Name: Charmaine Arredondo
Contact Email: carredondo@bellevuewa.gov
Phone Number: 425-452-6466
Metric 2: Review Hearing Examiner decisions and recommendations in a timely manner
The Hearing Examiner Program Coordinator reviews all recommendations, decisions, orders, etc. of the Hearing Examiners. These documents are reviewed for accuracy and formatting prior to issuance.
How was this calculated?
The number of days from the receipt of a decision or recommendation from the Hearing Examiner until issuance of the decision or recommendation.
Data:
Why is this important?
An accurate and timely recommendation or decision is an indication of a responsive government. This has remained steady over the past six years.
What are the next steps?
We will continue diligent review of Hearing Examiner documentation of decisions and recommendations to sustain performance.
Contact Name: Charmaine Arredondo
Contact Email: carredondo@bellevuewa.gov
Phone Number: 425-452-6466
Metric 3: Requests closed within 10 business days
The number of specific public disclosure requests that were responded to and closed within 10 business days of receiving them (this does not include public records requests for Development Services or Bellevue Police Department).
How was this calculated?
Each request is tracked and the number of days to respond and close a request is identified.
Data:
Why is this important?
Minimizing the amount of time to respond to such requests not only shows responsive government, but also efficiency in records retention and processing. Even with the increased complexity of requests, the aim is to maximize the percentage of requests closed within 10 business days. Over the past five years, the values have risen and fallen, which reflect the different volumes of requests coming in and the resources dedicated to fulfilling them.
What are the next steps?
We will continue to provide training and information regarding the Public Records Act to all employees, and implement a public portal to allow external customers access to frequently requested records.
Contact Name: Kathy Ebner
Contact Email: kebner@bellevuewa.gov
Phone Number: 425-452-4283
Metric 4: Public records requests
The number of specific public disclosure requests that come in to the City Clerk’s office (this does not include public records requests for Development Services or BPD).
How was this calculated?
Specific and non-duplicative requests made for public records via the PRR Portal, email, telephone, in person or mail. These also can come directly to a specific department and routed to the public disclosure team.
Data:
Why is this important?
It is important to provide the public with full and timely access to information concerning the conduct of government. There is not a target for this metric but minimizing the number of requests for public records would signal more open, transparent government with information readily available through data portals or other methods. The number of requests has steadily increased over the past 5 years.
What are the next steps?
We will continue to partner across departments on public portals to allow external customers access to frequently requested records. Furthermore, we will continue to seek innovative ways to inform the public about how to access available information.
Contact Name: Kathy Ebner
Contact Email: kebner@bellevuewa.gov
Phone Number: 425-452-4283