Make a records-response log before trying to tell the whole story

The log begins with the request

For a Gretna or Pittsylvania records inquiry, the first useful record is the request itself. Preserve the words actually sent, the recipient, the sending date and any acknowledgement.

If the scope changes later, keep the original and the revision. A reader cannot fairly judge whether a response addressed a request when the request has been summarized beyond recognition.

Virginia Code § 2.2-3704 requires reasonable specificity and generally concerns existing records rather than a duty to create a new narrative answer. The FOIA Council’s 2026 guide distinguishes supplying records, withholding all or part, reporting that records cannot be found or do not exist, and invoking additional time.

These are different response categories, not interchangeable ways to describe silence.

Use a row for each event

A simple table can have columns for event date, sender, item type, file name and unresolved point. Add an entry when a message arrives, a file is supplied, a cost estimate is sent or the request is narrowed.

Record the time and date as they appear in the original correspondence. Do not force a complicated exchange into a single deadline calculation until you have checked the relevant facts and law.

For a supplied file, record its internal date and page count as well as the receipt date. A document written in May and received in October has two useful dates.

Labeling it only October can make an old decision appear new. Naming both dates also helps a reader understand whether the request sought contemporary records or historical material.

Keep the custodian’s explanation in its own column. A claim that records were not found should not become your assertion that no record was ever created.

A cited exemption should not become a conclusion that the exemption was correctly applied. Preserve the answer and identify the question that remains.

Reconcile the record with the story

After the exchange, write a separate list of the facts you can establish from the supplied documents. An email may prove that its sender made a statement on a certain date; additional evidence may be needed to prove that statement true.

A blank space in a production may reflect request scope, retention, another custodian or a disputed omission. The log should help investigate those alternatives without choosing a motive prematurely.

Before sharing a chronology, check every line against the saved item. Use plain verbs: requested, acknowledged, supplied, withheld, revised or asked.

Reserve a legal conclusion for an analysis that addresses the applicable rule and full record. No particular local violation is alleged by this guide.

Leave the next reader a route back

A useful public summary includes the request date, the record sought, the response category and a link or file reference where publication is appropriate. Redact sensitive personal details from your working copy before circulation, while preserving the original securely.

Do not rewrite the original to make a cleaner story.

The goal is a correspondence trail that survives a disagreement. Neighbors can evaluate the same documents, distinguish what arrived from what remains missing and ask a narrower follow-up.

A well-kept log is often more helpful than a dramatic conclusion built from an incomplete inbox.