In accordance with the California Public Records Act, Govt. Code § 6250 et. seq., the City of Santa Rosa provides access to public records, except those exempt from disclosure by law. Under Govt. Code § 6253 (e), local agencies are under no obligation to create records that do not already exist at the time of the request.

City of Santa Rosa records, including emails, are subject to the California Public Records Act. Unless exemptions apply, emails sent to City staff or Council members, any attachments, and any replies, are subject to disclosure upon request, and neither the sender, nor any recipients should have any expectation of privacy regarding the contents of such communications.

Designated Response Time
Pursuant to the Act, the City has 10 days from receipt of the request to determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records in the City's possession and to notify the requester of that determination. When necessary, the initial 10-day period may be extended for up to 14 additional days by written notice to the requester, setting forth the reason for the time extension as required by the Act.
  
Fees for duplication of records
 Existing records kept in paper format will be given the option of receiving electronic copies in place of copying in its original format. If you wish to obtain paper copies, please note that you will be required to make payment prior to the documents being copied. The City’s copying fees are $0.10 per page for 8 ½” x 11” black and white copies.  Additional costs may apply for other sizes and/or color copies and postage. The City reserves the right to outsource the photocopy services if the number of public records requested is voluminous or in a format that cannot be copied. In this case, the requesting party will be responsible for costs of the third-party photocopy service. Please submit payment by check or money order made payable to:

City of Santa Rosa
Attn: City Clerk
100 Santa Rosa Avenue, Room 10
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Additional Resources:

• California Attorney General's Office Summary of the Public Records Act (2004) 
• Institute for Local Government Resources for Public Records Act
• Request Police Report (PDF)
• Walk-in or Mail-in Requests (PDF)