Contents
Background
Summary of Assessment Info from Other Municipalities
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act
Requirements of FOIA
Trends
Current Situation
Citizen Concerns
Conclusions
Alternatives
Recommendations
Commission Members
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Background:

Recent advancements in technology, especially the Internet, have allowed local governments to seriously consider and develop services delivered to their citizens and customers via technology. This evolution of government services, labeled e-Government, is being widely embraced by all levels of government. The City of Virginia Beach has had an Internet web site since June 1996. The web site, used to provide information to citizens about all forms of City services and programs, averages approximately 3000 users each day accessing more than 2800 pages of information on City services.The June 2000 Citizen Satisfaction Survey reported that 76.8% of respondents have access to the Internet from either home or work and 38% use Internet or e-mail every day.

The first initiative of e-Government was designed to provide access to public records regarding real estate data online via the Internet. After Real Estate Assessor Jerry Banagan introduced the idea to City Council in June 1999, the Council directed the Assessor to proceed with developing a means to place real estate information online, to address concerns about privacy, and to publicize the effort prior to putting the information online. In the spring of 2000, the Assessor initiated a public relations campaign. To address privacy concerns, the Assessor proposed publishing real estate information with names withheld upon the owner's request. A publicity campaign made a form available for citizens to request that their names be withheld from real estate information on the Internet.

On July 5, 2000, in response to complaints from citizens about making property owners' names and other detailed property information available to the public on the City's web site, City Council requested a second briefing from the Assessor and then held a Public Hearing on July 11, 2000. Four citizens appeared at this hearing to voice their opposition to posting assessment information on the Internet, and City Council agreed to defer implementation of the service while it considered the issues raised at the public hearing.

At this point, the Mayor's Special Advisory Commission on Electronic Government prepared a letter to the Mayor offering the services of the Commission to research the issue of posting public information on the Internet. A proposed "Resolution Regarding Publishing Public Information via the Internet" accompanied the letter. The Resolution, adopted by Council on September 12, 2000, charged the Commission to: study the proposal developed by the Assessor; research the manner in which other communities have dealt with citizen concerns about public information published over the Internet; develop a proposal with appropriate alternatives; work with the business community and the residents of Virginia Beach to understand the new proposal and how it addresses citizen concerns; and achieve a consensus for the support of, and recommendations and alternatives concerning, the creation of guidelines for the publication of public information on the City's Internet web site.

As a part of its research, the Commission invited citizens who had spoken at last July's Council Public Hearing to attend the Commission meeting on October 18, 2000. Other individuals who had communicated their concerns via e-mail were also invited. Two of those invited attended; one supported and one opposed posting real estate information.

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Summary of Assessment Information Available from Other Municipalities:

Five Hampton Roads communities have real estate assessment information posted on the Internet. In Norfolk, searches can only be made by property address or parcel identification code. Owner names are not included on the record displayed in Norfolk. Hampton, James City County, Williamsburg and York County have sophisticated assessment sites including automated maps and allow the user to search using an owner's name, an address, or a parcel ID. The information presented on these four systems includes the name of the owner and, in Hampton, a picture of the improvement. The table below summarizes the availability of online assessment information in Virginia.

Access to real estate assessment information is also found throughout the nation. The Prospect Research Office at the University of Virginia has compiled a comprehensive listing of property assessments online. It includes listings from 43 states and 523 individual cities and counties.

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The Virginia Freedom of Information Act:

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)is the primary state law that governs citizen access to the records and the meetings of public entities. In essence, the general principle of FOIA is that all public records should be open to public inspection and copying on request. There are certain specific exemptions to the general rules of openness. However, these exemptions are construed very narrowly, with the burden of proof lying with the public body as to why a record should not be disclosed.

FOIA defines a "public record," previously referred to as an "official record," as all writings and recordings which consist of letters, words or numbers, or their equivalent, set down by handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photography, magnetic impulse, optical or magneto-optical form, mechanical or electronic recording or other form of data compilation, however stored, and regardless of physical form or characteristics, prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees, or agents in the transaction of public business.

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Requirements of FOIA:

FOIA provides that all public records and public meetings be open to inspection and copying by residents of the Commonwealth during the regular business hours of the custodian of those records. Furthermore, FOIA stipulates that records that are maintained in an electronic data processing system, computer database, or any other structured collection of data shall be made available to a requester at a reasonable cost, not to exceed the actual cost of producing the records. If requested to do so, the public body is required to post these records on a web site or deliver them via e-mail to the individual requesting the records. The governing body is not mandated by FOIA to construct a web site or establish e-mail if it does not utilize either or both in its regular course of business. Within the requirements are very specific parameters that must be adhered to pertaining to compiling, updating, and indexing these databases, as well as excision of information.

FOIA was amended by the General Assembly in 1999 in an attempt to clarify its provisions and facilitate obtaining requests for public records by citizens of the Commonwealth. FOIA, now takes into consideration modern technology in addressing how the public should have access to public records.

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Trends:

The Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has placed driver license and registration renewal processes on its Internet site. Without leaving one's home or place of business, a consumer can access the Internet to transact most business with the DMV.

Numerous cities in Virginia and other states across the nation have placed frequently accessed public records and other public information on their web sites. Doing so has made these records easily and conveniently available to the citizenry.

The Federal Government has made IRS forms and information available on the Internet. In fact, individuals may now file their Federal Income Tax returns electronically.

Most recently, the Social Security Administration has placed its application online. The Virginian Pilot reported, "If the agency can shave five minutes off the application process, savings of $500,000 annually could result." This would occur with no new employees having to be hired.

The State and Federal governments are encouraging their agencies to provide access to information and records via their web sites.

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Current Situation:

Virginia Beach public records are generally available to anyone who goes to or calls a City office. These records include but are not limited to real estate assessment information, tax payment information, deeds, certain other court records, maps, plats, plans, permits and zoning information. There are many specific exclusions or conditions for exclusion associated with official public records and the custodian of each record is responsible for ensuring the proper release and access to public records under existing laws and policies. Access to some of these records is required to conduct many forms of business and personal transactions. Information regarding real estate ownership, assessment and tax payment status is accessed hundreds of times every day. The question is whether all or part of the information should or should not be made available to requesters via the Internet.

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Citizen Concerns:

The Commission is sensitive to and understands the vulnerability concerns of our citizens as well as the demands and expectations by some of our citizens for more online access. Citizen concerns include personal information being used inappropriately; unauthorized people accessing information; and information being inaccurate, incomplete, or unnecessary. Risks can include privacy abuses, harassment of individuals, financial fraud, and identity theft. The Commission has also heard from numerous individuals and businesses that desire the better and faster access the Internet can provide. Since the public hearing on July 11, 2000, the City has received 16 e-mail or written inquiries and numerous telephone inquiries asking when the real estate information would be made available via the Internet. The Commission published an e-Government services survey in the October issue of Beach Advisory and received 70 responses. The ability to look up real estate information was ranked as one of the top three needs by 30 of the respondents tying it with making payments online as the highest vote getter among 11 choices.

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Conclusions:

The trend clearly points toward providing more rather than less information electronically.

The amended FOIA addresses the issues of providing public records electronically if the public entity uses that medium in its regular course of business and Virginia Beach does so.

The City may be required to provide public records electronically if such a request is made. In publishing public records on its web site, the City may elect, as other municipalities have, to exclude certain information to protect the privacy of its citizens.

The Internet is ideally suited for the delivery of information at low cost. Technology provides the self-service methods for people to access information. The retrieval of real estate assessment information would exhibit the same cost structure as other forms of business transactions. Typically, the most costly form of business transaction is face-to-face, over-the-counter transactions, followed by live-operator-based telephone transactions, followed by automated-kiosk or interactive-voice-automated telephone inquiry. The lowest cost delivery mechanism is self-service Internet provided.

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Alternatives:

1. Do nothing, leave access to public records as it is by requiring access either via a phone call or personal visit to City offices. This alternative fails to meet stated citizen and customer needs for easier, faster and more convenient self-service access to public records. It continues to require City staff to be dedicated to providing the information over the phone, does not eliminate the need for trips to and parking at City offices, and fails to take advantage of an opportunity to both lower costs and provide better service. It does meet the expectations of four residents who spoke at the public hearing last July with concerns over public records being available to anyone over the Internet but it will not guarantee that public records won't appear on the Internet. Under the Freedom of Information Act any individual or company could request the information and post it on the Internet. The Prospect Research Office at the University of Virginia listing shows several sites where the public records on real estate were not posted by the local or state government but by a business or other private entity.
2. Offer an "opt out" option to citizens to have their names omitted but not other non-personal parts of the public record. This was the approach proposed by the City Assessor's plan to post real estate assessment information. This alternative meets stated citizen and customer needs for easier, faster and more convenient self-service access to public records but it fails to adequately address the privacy concerns the City Council and the Commission have heard. It also introduces considerable "overhead" into the process for both citizens and staff to submit and maintain information for those who desire to "opt out."
3. Publish information that is part of public records but without identifying individuals, providing any names, or allowing any name searches. This alternative to provide the information in an anonymous form largely meets stated citizen and customer needs for easier, faster and more convenient self-service access to public records and addresses some of the privacy concerns the City Council and the Commission have heard. This alternative has been used successfully in Norfolk and the counties of Arlington and Fairfax where similar citizens concerns about privacy were raised.
4. Track usage and access to public information by recording data regarding those accessing a citizen's information and make that data available to the citizen upon request or by requiring those who request assessment information to log in, provide personal information and the reason for accessing information. This alternative is technically difficult and would consume considerable staff resources to maintain and verify data provided by those accessing public records. It also raises more privacy concerns since now it involves releasing information of who accessed a public record, which is not addressed by current state law or policy. It also establishes a dual standard where accessing information over the Internet requires an individual to provide information not required if that record is accessed over the phone or in person.
5. Provide a full-search capability and other "value added" options to be purchased on a subscription basis with certain rights and conditions. This would be for groups and individuals who use the data for business purposes. The information would not be available for purposes other than research; it could not be used for mailing lists, directories, etc. Anyone violating access and/or use rules would lose privileges and forfeit all fees previously paid. This alternative would meet the needs of the business community but would not meet the needs of individual residents. It also would not exclude a company or individual from requesting a complete or partial electronic version the records under the Freedom of Information Act and using the information for mailing lists or other purposes.

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Recommendations:

After much discussion, listening to citizen positions and concerns, research, and debate the Mayor's Special Advisory Commission recommends:

1. Endorse alternative three (3) as the City's general guideline for publishing public records on the Internet. By publishing public records on the Internet but without identifying individuals, providing any names, or allowing any name searches. This allows us to provide the information in an anonymous form largely meeting citizen and customer needs for easier, faster and more convenient self-service access to public records and, in the opinion of the Commission, adequately addresses the legitimate privacy concerns we have heard.
2. Allow the staff to proceed as soon as possible to provide access to the real estate assessment data via the Internet in accordance with recommendation one (1) without identifying individuals, providing any names, or allowing any name searches.
3. Encourage the staff to fully research the costs and benefits of alternative five (5) which would allow the provision of a value-added and enhanced research tool for business users of real estate data. This effort should be fully supported by fees charged to the subscribers.
4. The Mayor's Special Advisory Commission on e-Government will continue to develop a clear and concise privacy policy, applicable to all information released via the Internet, containing:
   • The manner in which personal information is collected
   • The intended use of the information
   • A brief description of the laws relating to disclosure and confidentiality with a link to FOIA
   • Information on the purpose and anticipated effects of the web site's data security practices
   • The City's procedures for accessing personal information, verifying its accuracy, and making corrections
   • How the City may be contacted

Commission Members
Michael J. Barrett, Chairman
Phil Kellam, At Large
Judith Shay, Beach
John Gawne, Bayside
Sandra Williamson-Ashe, At Large
Chuck Manto, Princess Anne
Bill Dore', Kempsville
Ben Krause, Lynnhaven
Michael Mastrullo, Centerville
Frances Laskey, At Large
Greg Franceski, Rose Hall

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