Bryan, Texas, by the Numbers
87,792
Residents
214
Public Records Requests
per Month
147
JustFOIA Users Across
40 Departments
Contributors:
- Becky Aldridge, Records Management Coordinator (retired)
- Raul Dominguez Cruz, Records Management Coordinator
Known as the “heart and soul” of the area, the City of Bryan, Texas, has a rich past, culture, and proud heritage. As a city neighboring College Station and Texas A&M University, the city serves over 87,000 residents and is consistently growing.
The City of Bryan has been using JustFOIA to manage their public records requests since 2021. Even after changes in the records management department, the City continues to find value in JustFOIA’s intuitive platform.
Watch as Becky Aldridge, retired records management coordinator, shares their records request pain points, why they decided to improve the process, and what it looks like now.
Manual Processes: The Beginning
Like many, the City of Bryan had undergone a significant digital transformation in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first attempt at digitizing the public records request was by using Laserfiche Forms to collect requests.
“Still, the process was utterly manual – with Word documents and Excel spreadsheets to track the requests and multiple email templates for ad-hoc standardization of information,” Becky recalls. “I spent two to three hours a day working on open records requests. It was a mess!”
Meanwhile, the Police Department was also struggling under the surge of records requests they were receiving at the time, including large body camera files. But the manual processes created a lack of transparency that kept Becky from being able to pitch in.
Choosing JustFOIA
“We knew it was time for a change,” Becky said.
She and other City staff evaluated several platforms, but JustFOIA was the clear winner.
“As a longstanding client of MCCi, JustFOIA’s sister company, we loved the service and onboarding experience,” she said.
Another selling point was the integration with Laserfiche, which the City uses to house many of its records. Rather than needing to download files from Laserfiche and then upload them to JustFOIA, they can be imported directly into JustFOIA.
“In the end, JustFOIA was the perfect solution for us. We are delighted with our decision and recommend it to everyone!” Becky said.
Benefits of JustFOIA for the City of Bryan
Since implementing JustFOIA, the City’s open records process is unrecognizable from the mess they were experiencing before. Becky describes the process now:
“The forward-facing web portal saves everyone a trip to the government office. Now, they submit the request online and track the status anytime. I am not scanning or sending emails. With a few clicks, the Workflow distributes the request to the departments. We were concerned about uploading body camera footage and file sizes, but with a quick upload, JustFOIA provides easy access for the requester to download.”
Other significant benefits include:
Time saved
“I never expected JustFOIA would save me this much time,” Becky said.
The biggest change the City has seen is the reduction in time and hassle spent on each records request—even with Police Department requests almost doubling year over year.
“Even with the uptick, it’s really easy for them to manipulate all of this stuff really quickly.”
Recouping costs
The State of Texas allows agencies to charge a fee for public records. But prior to JustFOIA, the process for collecting fees was often too much of a headache.
“It was just not worth creating a letter, and sending that letter out, and hoping the person would call with a credit card number, and getting them to our accounting department to pay that, and then getting the record to them,” Becky said.
But with JustFOIA, Becky can send an easy-to-pay invoice directly to the requester through the Payment Portal—increasing the City’s revenue and recouping costs that otherwise had been lost.
Raul (who took over as Records Management Coordinator after Becky retired) explained, “The invoice is just a template. All we have to do is verify the time that was spent searching for records, and we make sure the deadlines are correct. Everything is pretty much just plug in and go.”
Between Police Information Requests and Public Records Requests, the City of Bryan has collected approximately $12.8K in fees in three years.
Collaboration
The lack of transparency used to leave Becky scrambling to track down information from across different departments. But now, automated reminders make it easy for everyone involved with a request to stay on top of things. And when communication is necessary, it’s easy to handle within JustFOIA.
While Raul’s primary responsibility is City records requests, he’s able to jump in with police requests as well if there are any bottlenecks.
Reducing errors
Human error is a fact of life. But the JustFOIA audit trail help records staff catch errors before requests go out. Becky said, “For example, I had a situation where one department employee added a document, and another accidentally deleted it. So, I looked back at the history and saw where it inadvertently got deleted. So, we reloaded the document quickly, and everything was great again.”
Staying in compliance with Texas law
JustFOIA helps the City of Bryan stay in compliance with the Texas Public Information Act, which requires a prompt response to records requests—typically within 10 business days.
Raul explained: “The calendar and holiday schedule make it easy to track deadlines. At the beginning of the year, I just plug in the holidays that are exempt for our purposes. It’s really nice the way that is set up.”
Supporting attorney general reviews
The Texas Public Information Act sometimes requires agencies to seek opinions from the Attorney General’s office about what information can be released. JustFOIA helps keep track of requests in those circumstances.
“It does help to have JustFOIA kind of keep everything on track because they have up to 45 business days to give us that decision,” Raul noted.
Expanding JustFOIA's Role
Since the initial implementation, the City of Bryan has expanded their use of JustFOIA to include three separate request forms: city, police, and fire department requests.
Raul has been able to take ownership of modifying the forms and workflows to meet each department’s specific needs, such as adding a field for a reference number on the fire department form.
“It is very easy to learn something and apply it somewhere else,” Raul said. “Once I learned how the templates were set up, I could easily plug-and-play what I needed.”
Plus, Raul collaborates with other local agencies using JustFOIA, including Brazos County, in case they have questions or suggestions for each other.
Life as a JustFOIA Client
The relationship between the City of Bryan and JustFOIA has remained strong over the years. When asked how he would react if his boss decided not to renew their JustFOIA subscription, Raul responded:
“I would be just a little panicked! With the requirements that are posed on us from the state, we need to have something that’s robust to make sure that not only are we responding correctly and appropriately, but we’re also doing it within deadlines. It’s what helps us keep everything together.”
The JustFOIA support team continues to be an important part of the City’s success. Raul describes the assistance he receives as “A plus.”
“They’re very knowledgeable. I love that they follow up with me to make sure that my issues are resolved or if I’m needing assistance trying to figure out something.”
Learn More
After several years of use, JustFOIA continues to be a valuable tool that helps the City of Bryan manage public records requests efficiently and in compliance with state law.
“It has made my job not necessarily super easy. As you know, we still have interesting requests, interesting requesters. But it is just so nice to be able to rely on a software that will keep everything on track,” Raul concluded.
Are you interested in seeing how JustFOIA can work for your organization? Contact us by completing the form below.
Are you experiencing an uptick in records requests?
We have not seen the city public information requests on my side, but the police department has a significant uptick for police records.
What common types of requests do you receive?
- Purchasing Record Requests
- Building Permit Records
- Environmental Requests
- Third-Party Emergency Medical Requests
- Municipal Courts (such as defensive driving course)
- Body Camera Video Requests
Police Records
Why did the City of Bryan decide to invest in a records requests solution?
The city knew something had to change. Transformation during COVID was a must. I used Laserfiche Forms to collect the records request. Still, the process was utterly manual – with Word documents and Excel spreadsheets to track the requests and multiple email templates for ad-hoc standardization of information. I spent two to three hours a day working on open records requests. It was a mess!
The city is also responsible for the police, fire, and EMS, but each department handles its requests. The manual process blocked any transparency between the departments.
How did you decide JustFOIA was the best fit for the city?
As a longstanding MCCi client (JustFOIA’s sister company) we loved the customer service and onboarding experience. We are a vast Laserfiche user in the city. So, the Laserfiche integration was a huge selling point for us. It has made things much quicker and simpler. After evaluating several platforms, in the end, JustFOIA was the perfect solution for us.
We are delighted with our decision and recommend it to everyone!
What are some of the features that you love the most?
The forward-facing web portal saves everyone a trip to the government office. Now, they submit the request online and track the status anytime. I am not scanning or sending emails. With a few clicks, the request is distributed to the departments. We were concerned about uploading body camera footage and file sizes, but with a quick upload, JustFOIA provides easy access for the requester to download.
JustFOIA is so easy-to-use, and the staff loves it!
It is effortless to invoice requesters for the time and materials that we spend making open records requests once they meet the thresholds of the Texas Public Information Act.
The other great thing we like is the history or audit trail. I can look at the history and tell you who did what at any given time with this request. For example, last week, I had a situation where one department employee added a document, and another accidentally deleted it. We’re like, “Wait; there was this document there.” So, I looked back at the history and saw where it inadvertently got deleted. So, we reloaded the document quickly, and everything was great again.
What do you want to tell someone considering JustFOIA for their agency?
Everyone I have worked with at JustFOIA has been fantastic. Their dedicated customer success specialist quickly responds to my emails or escalates to technical support if needed. The staff is very responsive. I have had a few places where I had done something wrong and needed some guidance, and they were speedy and supportive.
The development team and leadership love customer feedback – small or large. For example, I had a field on a screen that required lots of scrolling because the message was too long for the small area. We gave feedback that it was a little annoying, so the development team fixed it. Every feature and interface enhancement is based on customer feedback.
