ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After years of dealing with backlogs in public records requests, the city of Albuquerque is finally experiencing a higher clearance rate. However, the number of overall requests continues to rise.

The city receives thousands of requests each year, giving it a workload comparable to one of the largest police agencies in the country: the Los Angeles Police Department. Requests have increased from 4,000 to nearly 16,000 by 2025.

"So the volume of requests that the city receives and under our public records act is really unusual," said City Clerk Ethan Watson.

For years, Albuquerque had a backlog of public records requests in the thousands. But for the first time since 2023, that backlog has dropped below 1,000 requests. Over the last fiscal year, the city reports

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