Public Records

Engage Marin is operated by the County of Marin, a California public agency. Anything you submit to the platform — ideas, comments, upvotes — may be a public record under the California Public Records Act (PRA, Government Code §§ 7920.000 et seq.). That has practical consequences for what you post.

A public record is any writing containing information related to the conduct of the public’s business that is prepared, owned, used, or retained by the County. On Engage Marin, ideas and comments published by residents fall into this category. So do moderation decisions and staff replies.

Posts you make can be requested by any member of the public, including journalists, researchers, and other residents. Even if you delete a post or close your account, the County may retain a copy for the period required by the records retention schedule.

For that reason, treat anything you post here as if it could be published in a newspaper. Don’t share information you wouldn’t want connected to your name or your neighborhood.

Engage Marin lets you post anonymously: your display name and city won’t appear next to your idea or comment. The platform still retains the underlying account or session record for moderation purposes, and that record is itself a public record. Anonymous posting hides your identity from other residents, not from the County.

Anyone can request records from the County of Marin. The County responds to requests on the timeline set by state law. Final contact details and a link to the County’s records-request form will appear here before public launch.

Engage Marin retains submissions in line with the County’s records retention schedule. Removed or rejected submissions are not deleted from the database; they are hidden from public view but retained for audit and PRA compliance.