Overview
The Department of Public Records and Data is the City of AI's transparency office. It administers the Maine Freedom of Access Act locally, operates the open data portal, and reviews algorithmic disclosure for systems used in high-impact services.
Submit a public records request
Anyone — Maine residents, journalists, researchers — may request city records. Use the online records request form, email records@cityofaime.com, or mail a written request to the address at right. The department acknowledges every request within 5 business days and provides records within 30 days (with extensions permitted under state law). The first $30 of staff time and the first 100 pages are at no charge.
Open data portal
The portal publishes citywide datasets in machine-readable form (CSV, JSON, GeoJSON). Featured datasets:
- Real-time water quality (Pemaquid Reach Reservoir, Knuth Aquifer)
- 311 service requests by district
- Annual budget and capital improvement plan
- Permit issuance and inspection outcomes
- Tree canopy assessment (annual lidar survey)
- Council member voting records
- Notice and citation issuance, redacted
- Park reservations and recreation league enrollment
Datasets have a sworn data steward, a documented refresh cadence, and a public Data Quality Note. APIs are rate-limited (10,000 requests/day/anon, 100,000/day/keyed) and free for residents and researchers.
Records that are public by default
- City Council agendas, minutes, and roll-call votes
- Adopted ordinances (see the Code of Ordinances)
- Annual financial reports
- Bid solicitations and award notices
- Inspection reports for restaurants and lodging
Records that are confidential under state law
- Personnel files of city employees
- Library borrowing records
- Juvenile court records
- Cybersecurity vulnerability information
- Active investigation records held by the Municipal Court Clerk