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Accepting the Data Practices Process Report Conducted by Wilder Research.
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WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council Audit Committee, with support from the City Council, engaged Wilder Research to conduct a study aligned with the Committee’s mission “to evaluate the financial and program performance of City departments to build public trust and ensure outstanding service delivery and transparency”; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is committed to transparency, accountability, and equitable access to public information as required under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA), and, in response to growing public interest in government data access, privacy protections, and process efficiency, initiated a review of its internal data practices processes in 2024, including job audits conducted by the Human Resources Department for the classifications of Data Practices Supervisor and Data Practices Specialist, housed within the City Attorney’s Office, to enhance coordination and support for the City’s compliance with data practices requests; and
WHEREAS, RES 25-1447 authorized Wilder Research to conduct a performance audit of the City’s data practices process focused on identifying actionable policy, technology, and procedural changes to improve the City’s data practices framework; and
WHEREAS, the study focused on three guiding research questions:
• How is the City’s current public data request process operating?
• How does the public experience the current request process?
• What opportunities exist to strengthen the process moving forward?; and
WHEREAS, at the Council’s Audit Committee meeting on June 16, 2026, Wilder Research presented its findings and recommendations aimed at improving the City’s data practices process; and
WHEREAS, the Audit Committee accepted the report and referred the final findings to the full City Council, including a PowerPoint presentation (Attachment A) and the final report (Attachment B); and
WHEREAS, the report’s key finding is that the data practices management tool (GovAQ) manages and tracks requests but does not search for responsive records, requiring staff to manually locate records outside the platform; and
WHEREAS, the Wilder Research report affirms that the City has established tools and processes to support public data requests and recommends that the City:
• Strengthen existing practices by making better use of GovQA’s available tools, creating a more structured intake process, and developing clearer citywide procedures; and
• Build for the future by investing in ongoing staff training, using reporting data to identify trends, publishing frequently requested records, and periodically reassessing the technology; and
• Align training, structure, and communication to keep pace with increasing demand for public data requests; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council hereby accepts the Data Practices Process Report conducted by Wilder Research in its entirety and recommends that the findings be shared with the Mayor and relevant City departments.