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Grand Prairie, Texas by the Numbers
201,843
Residents
137
Public Records Requests per Month
143
JustFOIA Users Across 34 Departments
Grand Prairie sits in the bustling Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with around 200,000 residents spread across a large geographic area. Like many growing cities, Grand Prairie faced mounting challenges with their public records request process that was creating inefficiencies and frustration for both staff and residents.
Before implementing JustFOIA, Grand Prairie’s records management was fragmented and unreliable. Individual departments handled requests independently using their own makeshift processes.
Chiquita Taylor, Record Management Coordinator for Grand Prairie, described the frustration: “We were receiving requests on any piece of paper that was available. We’d have people put in requests on the back of a utility bill!”
The Daily Detours of Decentralization
Chiquita explained: “Prior to JustFOIA everything was processed by paper by individual departments. It was not centralized in the city secretary’s office like it is now. The departments processed their requests in their own way as they received them.”
But in Grand Prairie, departments are spread across several different government buildings, some of them several miles away from city hall. That meant it was near impossible for the city secretary’s office to track requests.
Citizens faced equally frustrating experiences. They had to visit city hall twice—once to submit requests and again to retrieve documents. Out-of-state requesters waited weeks for mail exchanges on time-sensitive development projects.
Skipping the Busywork
Finally, they’d had enough. They decided to use JustFOIA to centralize the request process through the city secretary’s office.
“We wanted a request to come in one place and exit the same place,” Chiquita said.
Now all requests flow through JustFOIA regardless of how they arrive. Phone, mail, email, or paper submissions all get digitized and tracked in one system. The platform eliminates manual paperwork and automates routine processes.
Staff training became dramatically simpler. “Before when there was turnover, with each department having their own process it was difficult to train people on processing records requests. With JustFOIA the training is very simple and it’s so much easier to get people up to speed,” Chiquita said.
The platform delivered beyond expectations. Citizens can now submit, pay for, and receive documents entirely online. Response times improved dramatically, with some requests fulfilled the same day.
“Our requests are processed a lot faster, even if our number of requests increases there is no difference in the time it takes us to process a request,” Chiquita said.
Cutting the Risks
Texas law requires agencies to respond to records requests within ten business days. JustFOIA automatically calculates deadlines and sends alerts before requests become overdue.
“When someone submits a request, the due date is automatically the ten-day mark. I check JustFOIA every day and it alerts me on any requests that aren’t processed by day 8,” Chiquita said.
The platform includes templates for standard communications about costs and extended timelines. Built-in collaboration tools let multiple departments add notes to complex requests, creating a complete audit trail that eliminates phone tag and confusion.
Results That Matter
The shift created measurable improvements in transparency and citizen satisfaction. “We have much transparency with our community. We found that people are much happier with the system,” Chiquita said.
Out-of-state requesters particularly benefit from the improved digital process. Time-sensitive development projects no longer get delayed by mail exchanges.
Chiquita summarized the overall impact: “JustFOIA is so easy and intuitive, everyone can use it. Our requests are processed so quickly, and they can request, pay and access their documentation anywhere whether it’s on their phone, at home or at work.”
