About Public Records

What is a Public Record?

The Village of Palmetto Bay is subject to the provisions of Florida's Open Government or "Sunshine" Laws which require certain governmental agencies, such as Palmetto Bay, to make records available to the general public for inspection and/or copying, unless specifically exempted by the Florida Legislature.  

Public records are all materials made or received by the Village in connection with official business which are used to perpetuate, communicate or formalize knowledge. Records typically refer to traditional written documents, but the definition also includes tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission.  Public records are subject to public inspection and/or copying unless disclosure of the record is protected under a statutory exemption.

Public records law requires for records that are maintained in the course of official village business to be made available for public inspection and/or copying, but it does not require for a record that does not exist to be created pursuant to a request.  

How to Request a Public Record

If you wish to inspect a record in person or receive copies of a record, you may:

  • Complete a Public Records Request form online; OR
  • Contact the Village Clerk's office to make your request in person, by phone or email.

A staff member from the Village Clerk's office will contact you if the public record that you requested does not exist, or if there is a cost associated with your request for copying expenses and/or staff time in researching, redacting (in the case of disclosure exemptions) or copying records requested.

Public records will be processed in accordance with applicable Florida Statutes and the Village of Palmetto Bay Public Records Policy. 

Requesting Police Records

Palmetto Bay contracts out its policing services to Miami-Dade County Police Department under an Interlocal Agreement with Miami-Dade County.  To request records related to police, please click the link below:

Public Records Requests Archives

To view all of the public records requests made as of February 6, 2017, please click on the "Public Record Requests Listing" tab on the menu to the left hand side. 

Village Clerk Contact 

Information

Missy Arocha, Village Clerk
Mailing address: 9705 E Hibiscus Street
Email address: marocha@palmettobay-fl.gov
Telephone number: 305-259-1234
Fax number: 305-259-1290