The Kitsap Sun has a long and interesting article on the use of email by city officials. (You have to register to access the article, which is a huge *&^$%! hassle.) The article discusses many of the roadblocks that cities have encountered, and then concludes by referencing the approach that Olympia has adopted:

OLYMPIA’S SOLUTION

Overstreet now is working on guidelines for cities to follow to make sure their electronic records comply with the state Public Records Act. It’s due out in a few months.

Some cities haven’t waited.

About two years ago, at the request of Councilman TJ Johnson, the city of Olympia issued each council member a laptop and city e-mail address. Council members use their laptops solely for city business. At the end of the month, all of the exchanges are collected and put on a CD-ROM.

The reporter from the Olympian newspaper regularly reviews it, and the public has ready access to it. No public-disclosure request is necessary.

The problem with elected officials using personal computers vanished instantly and the system has worked well, Johnson said.

It set the stage for open government in Olympia, Johnson said.

"If they want to see it, they should be able to," he said of the public.

Other cities have done the same.