Balancing Public Meeting and Records Transparency Amid Rising Threats and Public Pressure

Public meetings and public records are foundational to transparency and accountability in county government. At the same time, today’s environment presents new challenges, as public officials and staff navigate heightened civic tension, evolving security risks, and increasing demands for information.

In this webinar, we will explore three interconnected priorities: maintaining safe and orderly public meetings, protecting the personal information of public officials and staff, and safeguarding sensitive resident data - including voter-related records - while continuing to meet legal requirements for public access.

Participants will gain practical strategies to support both transparency and safety. We will discuss approaches to maintaining continuity and public participation in meetings, managing the growing volume and complexity of public records requests, and implementing consistent processes for review, redaction, and access controls. The goal is to help counties uphold open government principles while reducing risk to individuals and organizations.

Attendees Will Learn: 

• How to maintain transparent and accessible public meetings while reducing safety risks through clear rules, structured workflows, and hybrid or remote participation options
• Strategies to de-escalate and address disruptions in public meetings while preserving public participation, notice requirements, and the official record
• Best practices for protecting public officials’ personal information - such as home addresses, phone numbers, and family details - across agendas, meeting materials, recordings, and records responses
• Approaches to managing complex and high-volume public records requests, including those involving sensitive resident data, using consistent review and redaction processes and appropriate role-based access controls 

Who Should Attend: 

Clerks, Records Managers, CIO/IT Directors, City/County Managers