[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Municipality of Kingston as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Administration — See Ch. 3.
[Adopted 12-22-2008 by Res. No. 2008-39]
A requester of records shall complete an information
request form provided by the Office of Open Records and/or the Municipality
and shall identify the requested records with sufficient specificity.
The Municipality hereby designates the Municipal
Secretary as the Open Records Officer, in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Right-To-Know Law,[1] and said Open Records Officer shall receive requests submitted
to the Municipality under the Right-To-Know Law, direct requests to
other appropriate persons within the Municipality or to appropriate
persons in another agency, track the Municipality's progress
in responding to requests and issue interim and final responses.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 P.S. § 67.101
et seq.
If a requested record contains both public record
information as well as nonpublic record information, the Municipality
may redact the nonpublic record information from the record.
A.
Upon receipt of a written request for access to a
public record, the Municipality shall make a good faith effort to
respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at
the time of the request. The response shall not exceed five business
days from the date of the written request. The failure of the Municipality
to respond in the designated time frame shall be deemed a denial of
the request unless one of the following exceptions applies:
(1)
The request requires the redaction of information
within a public record.
(2)
The request requires the retrieval of the document
from a remote location.
(3)
A timely response cannot be accomplished due to legitimate
staffing limitations.
(4)
A legal review is necessary.
(5)
The requester did not comply with the Municipality's
policies regarding public access.
(6)
The requester refuses to pay fees.
(7)
The extent or nature of the request precludes a response
within the required time period.
B.
In the event of one or more of the above exceptions,
the Municipality shall send written notice to the requester within
five business days of the request stating the request is being reviewed,
the reason for review and the exception that applies, the expected
response date and an estimate of applicable fees owed when the record
becomes available. If a response is expected more than 30 days after
the five-day period, the request is deemed denied unless otherwise
agreed to by the requester in writing.
If the request is denied, the following must
be included with the denial:
A.
Description of the record requested.
B.
Specific reasons for the denial, including a citation
of supporting legal authority.
C.
Typed or printed name, title, business address, business
telephone number and signature of the Open Records Officer on whose
authority the denial was issued.
D.
Date of response.
E.
Appeal procedure.
If the request is denied or deemed denied, the
requester may file an appeal with the Office of Open Records or judicial,
legislative or other appeals officer designated under the Pennsylvania
Right-To-Know Law within 15 business days of the mailing date of the
Municipality's response or deemed denial. The appeal shall proceed
in accordance with the Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law. The appeal
shall state the grounds upon which the requester asserts that the
record is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by
the Municipality for denying or delaying the request.
The fee schedule for information and/or record
requests shall be as set forth in the fee structure of the Pennsylvania
Office of Open Records pursuant to Section 1307 of the Right-To-Know
Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 P.S. § 67.1307.
This article shall take effect on January 1,
2009.
