Public Records Requests

The city provides access to public records under the provisions of the Washington State Public Records Act (RCW 42.56). The City’s rules are found in Chapter 2.80 of the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code, and full details are provided in the Public Records Act Administrative Rules 2-27-2020

Making a Request

Public records requests may be made through the Open Public Records Portal in person, by mail, phone, fax or email to the Public Records Officer. For written requests, you may download and complete the Public Records Request form (PDF).

Contact Information:

Public Records Officer Christine Brown, CMC
City of Bainbridge Island
280 Madison Avenue N
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

Phone: 206-780-8618
Fax: 206-780-8600

Email Public Records

Response to Request

Upon receiving a request for records, the city will respond within five business days by:

Acknowledging receipt of the request and providing a reasonable estimate of the time the city will need to respond to the request
Denying the records request
Providing the record

Additional Time

Additional time may be required to respond to a request because of the need to seek clarification, to locate and assemble the information requested, to notify third parties or agencies affected by the request, or to determine whether any of the information requested is exempt and that a denial should be made as to all or part of the request (RCW 42.56.520).

Exempt Records

RCW 42.56 describes the records that are exempt from the Washington State Public Records Act. The Municipal Research Services Center’s publication Public Records Act for Washington Cities, Counties, and Special Purpose Districts (PDF) has additional information on these exemptions.

Notification of Records

Once the records have been assembled, you will be notified that the records are available for your review. Copies may be requested after the review is completed, or you may request to have copies made without conducting a review of the records.

Many records are available for review on this website, including:

City Council Meetings
Hearing Examiner Decisions
Municipal Code (hosted by Code Publishing)
Ordinances and Resolutions

Copy Type	Fee
Inspection of Records Inspection of records on the City’s website or scheduled at City Hall	No Fee
Paper Copies of Records 11" x 17" or smaller, double-sided or single-sided	$0.15 per page
Outsourced Copies or Scans of Records Outside vendors can be used for unusual formats, large quantities, or when a requester asks for delivery of copies faster than the City can process	Actual Cost
Electronic Records
Public Records Portal or Email	$0.10 per gigabyte ($0.00 if < 1GB); and $0.05 per every 4 records ($0.00 if < 4 records)
Digital Storage Devices E.g., records are copied to optical storage devices, such as a CD or DVD, or a flash drive	Actual Cost
Scans A per-page charge for converting a record from a paper copy to an electronic format	$0.10 per page (single or double-sided)
Mailing Physical Records or Storage Devices	Actual cost of postage and container/envelope
Other categories	Refer to Fee Schedule
Customized Service Data compilations prepared as customized serve. Cost is in addition to copy fees above	Actual cost
Clerk Certification	$1.00 per document
Copy charges above may be combined to the extent more than one type of charge applies to copies released in response to a particular request. For large requests, the City may take one or more of the following actions: require a deposit of 10 percent of the estimated copying costs before making copies; provide copies in installments; or require payment before providing further installments.