Roswell gets fewer record requests than most nearby North Fulton cities

By DELANEY TARR and CARL APPEN delaney@appenmedia.com carl@appenmedia.com

ROSWELL, Ga. — The City of Roswell was scheduled this week to consider changes to its open record policies that would require people to either provide “verifiable” names and addresses or go to Roswell City Hall in person to retrieve requested records.

Some city officials say the move is an effort to address a large volume of requests, claiming Roswell receives considerably more inquiries than other North Fulton municipalities.

Appen Media decided to find out if that’s true. It’s not.

In fact, Roswell has received fewer record requests than almost all of its sister cities this year, according to documents reviewed by the news organization.

Roswell has received 406 requests since Jan. 1, according to the City Clerk’s office. The city has approximately 92,530 residents.

Sandy Springs, its neighbor to the south, received 947 requests over the same time period. Sandy Springs has approximately 14,000 more residents than Roswell.

Milton, a city less than half the size of Roswell with 41,259 residents, received 507 requests.

Only Johns Creek, a city slightly smaller than Roswell, received fewer requests. Officials there provided documents showing it had received 323 inquiries during that time.

Alpharetta, a municipality consistently compared with Roswell despite its