This week, we celebrate Sunshine Week, a week established 15 years ago to promote transparency by bringing awareness to public records and their availability to residents. In honor of Sunshine Week, our Records Program Administrator, Laura Runge, shares some insights on our Records Management Team and their work.

Charlotte Water’s Records Management Team is proud of our department’s commitment to open communication and transparency. We consistently find people across the department who are prompt and willing to help identify the information a resident has requested. In 2020 alone, Charlotte Water had over 100 formal public record requests, and on average, we were able to fulfill those requests in just five calendar days!

All records maintained by Charlotte Water are available for public inspection unless specifically exempted by law. Although most information is public and subject to disclosure, some information is considered protected. For example, we are obligated to protect such things as customer billing information, sensitive public security information, and components of personnel files. 

To request information, we ask that you complete the Public Records Request Form available at https://charlottenc.gov/PublicRecords. Your request will be tracked and you can even view the status of your request as it is assigned, collected, and fulfilled. As a rule, we respond to all requests for information as quickly as possible. While some requests are more complex and require extra time, Charlotte Water on average fulfills a request in 5-7 days.