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The City of Richmond's central hub for public information, department support, and community connection resources.
Our Public Information Officers are communications professionals responsible for managing and sharing information between the Richmond City government and the public, including media, community stakeholders, and visitors.
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act makes sure that residents have access to public records and public meetings.
The Press Secretary serves as the primary spokesperson for the mayor, managing communications with the media and the public.
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FOIA
“The affairs of government are not intended to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy since at all times the public is to be the beneficiary of any action taken at any level of government.”
-The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA)
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act makes sure that residents have access to public records and public meetings. Because the City of Richmond holds many public meetings and produces extensive public records, there is a FOIA officer for each department.
OSC houses the FOIA Manager, who supports FOIA officers, works with multi-departmental requests, and handles FOIA requests from members of the media.
Making a FOIA Request
- If you have a FOIA request for a specific department, please review the list of FOIA officers and make your request to the correct person.
- If you are part of a media outlet or have questions about the FOIA library, contact [email protected].
- If you have general questions about FOIA, you can reach the Virginia FOIA Advisory Council at [email protected] or by calling 804-698-1810 (toll free: 866-448-4100).
FOIA Best Practices (adapted from the Virginia Advisory Council):
- You ask for records orally (in person, over the phone, etc.) but putting the request in writing (email, letter) makes sure that the requester and the public body FOIA officers are literally on the same page.
- Be direct and clear.
- Ask for records, not answers to questions or explanations, since FOIA is a process for accessing records that already exist.
- Reducing the number of search terms, the length of time frames, and/or the number of people involved should save both time and money.
- Use Boolean search terms when possible (e.g., "zoning application AND denied" or "zoning application AND residential NOT industrial").
- If you are unsure about what records a public body has or how it manages them, contact the public body first to discuss your request. This helps avoid using vague or broad language in your request, ensuring important records are not missed.
- When in doubt, contact the public body and ask questions.
