[Ord. 479, 12/8/2010]
Unless otherwise provided by law, a public record shall be accessible
for inspection and duplication in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 2008) (the "Act").[1] A record being provided to a requester shall be provided
in the medium requested if it exists in that medium; otherwise, it
shall be provided in the medium in which it exists. Public records,
legislative records or financial records shall be available for access
during the regular business hours of Red Hill Borough (the "Borough").
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.
[Ord. 479, 12/8/2010, as amended by Ord. No. 2022-580, 4/13/2022]
The Borough Council shall appoint the Borough's Open Records
Officer annually or as otherwise needed.
[Ord. 479, 12/8/2010]
1.
A request for access to public records under the Act may be made
by any person who is a legal resident of the United States. A request
shall be in writing, shall be addressed to the Borough's Open Records
Officer, and shall include the following information: the date of
the request; the requester's name, address, and telephone number;
identification or description of the public records requested with
sufficient specificity to enable the Open Records Officer to determine
which public records are being requested; and, the signature of the
requester.
2.
All requests shall include the certification of the requester that
he or she is a legal resident of the United States and shall be accompanied
by a copy of a valid drivers license, social security card, passport,
voter registration card or other valid supporting documentation of
the requester evidencing lawful residency in the United States.
3.
All requests shall be in writing and shall be set forth on the Borough
of Red Hill Record Request Form, a sample of which is on file at the
Borough office, or such form as may be developed and promulgated by
the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, as amended from time to time.
4.
In the event that a request is addressed to or received by a Borough
employee other than the Open Records Officer, the Borough employee
receiving the request shall promptly forward it to the Open Records
Officer for review.
[Ord. 479, 12/8/2010]
1.
Initial Determination. Upon receiving a request, the Open Records
Officer or his/her designee shall:
A.
Note the date of receipt on the request;
B.
Calculate the day on which the period of five business days to respond
will expire and make a notation of that date on the request;
C.
Review the request and make a determination as to whether the record
requested is a public record; and
D.
Maintain either an electronic or paper copy of the request, including
all documents submitted with the request as required by law.
2.
Initial Response. The Open Records Officer, on behalf of the Borough,
shall respond to a request within five business days from the date
the request is received by the Borough by:
A.
Granting the request in its entirety;
B.
Denying the request in its entirety;
C.
Granting in the request in part and denying the request in part;
D.
Notifying the requester that the request is being reviewed and that
the Borough is invoking an extension of time of up to 30 days, as
provided by the Act, in order to respond to the request;
E.
Indicating to the requester that the request does not comply with
the Borough's policies, the guidelines and procedures established
by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, or the Act and that the
request must be brought into compliance within 30 days; or
F.
Notifying the requester that the requested public record is available
on the Borough's website or through other publicly accessible electronic
means.
3.
Response When Extension of Time Is Invoked. In the event that an
extension of time to respond to a request is invoked by the Borough's
Open Records Officer, within 30 days of invoking said extension the
Open Records Officer shall respond to the request by:
4.
Review of Public Records. Public records responsive to a request
for review of records shall be available for review at 56 West 4th
Street, Red Hill, Pennsylvania 18076 during regular business hours
of the Borough (8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). A requester's review of responsive
public records will be under the supervision of the Open Records Officer
or the person designated by the Open Records Officer.
5.
Copies. Copies of public records responsive to a request for copies
of records shall be available for pickup at 56 West 4 Street, Red
Hill, Pennsylvania 18076 during regular business hours of the Borough
(8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Alternatively, the Borough, at its sole
discretion, may choose to mail responsive public records to a requester,
provided that the requester has paid the applicable postage.
6.
Redaction. If the Borough determines that a public record contains
information which is subject to access as well as information which
is not subject to access, the Borough's response shall grant access
to the information which is subject to access and deny access to the
information which is not subject to access. If the information which
is not subject to access is an integral part of the public record,
legislative record or financial record and cannot be separated, the
Borough shall redact from the record the information which is not
subject to access, and the response shall grant access to the information
which is subject to access. The Borough may not deny access to the
record if the information which is not subject to access is able to
be redacted.
7.
Exemptions. The records and information set forth in the Section
67.708(b)(2) of the Act are exempt from access by a requester and
shall not be disclosed to a requester. In the event that that the
authority chooses to or inadvertently discloses a record that would
otherwise be exempt or would otherwise not constitute a public record
under the Act, such disclosure shall not constitute a waiver of the
Borough's future right to claim, or otherwise prevent the Borough
from subsequently claiming, any such exemption or that any record
does not constitute a public record.
8.
Denial. If the Borough's response is a denial of a written request
for access, whether in whole or in part, the denial shall be issued
in writing and shall include:
A.
A description of the record requested;
B.
The specific reasons for the denial, including a citation of supporting
legal authority;
C.
The typed or printed name, title, business address, business telephone
number and signature of the Open Records Officer on whose authority
the denial is issued;
D.
The date of the response; and
E.
The procedure to appeal the denial of access under the Act.
[Ord. 479, 12/8/2010]
1.
Postage. The fees for postage shall be the actual cost of mailing.
2.
Copying Standard Size Documents. The Borough shall charge a copying
fee in accordance with a schedule of fees adopted by the Borough via
resolution from time to time. The aforesaid fee schedule shall not
exceed the maximum amount allowed under the fee schedule promulgated
by the Office of Open Records for copying standard sized documents.
A copy is either a single-sided copy or one side of a double-sided
black-and-white copy of a standard 8.5-inch by 11-inch page.
3.
Copying Specialized Documents. The fee for copying a specialized
document is the actual cost incurred by the Borough for the copying
of the document. Specialized documents include, without limitation,
blueprints, color copies and nonstandard-sized documents.
4.
Copying to Facsimile/Microfiche/Other Media. The fee for copying
to a media other than paper shall be the actual cost incurred by the
Borough for the copying.
5.
Conversion to Paper. If a record is only maintained electronically
or in other nonpaper media, copying fees shall be limited to the lesser
of the fee for duplication on paper or the fee for duplication in
the original media unless the requester specifically requests for
responsive public records to be duplicated in the more expensive medium.
6.
Certification of a Record. The Borough may impose reasonable fees
for official certification of copies if the certification is at the
behest of the requester. Please note that certification fees do not
include notarization fees.
7.
Redaction Fee. If a requester wishes to inspect rather than receive
a copy of a record and the record contains both public and nonpublic
information, the Borough shall redact the nonpublic information. The
Borough may not charge the requester for the redaction. However, the
Borough may charge for the copies it must make of the redacted material
in order for the requester to view the public record in accordance
with the fee structure set forth hereinabove. If, after inspecting
the records, the requester chooses to obtain copies of the redacted
records, no additional fee may be charged.
8.
Prepayment. Prior to granting a request for access in accordance
with the Act, the Borough may require a requester to prepay an estimate
of the fees if the fees required to fulfill the request are expected
to exceed $100.
[Ord. 479, 12/8/2010]
1.
Copies of responsive public records not retrieved within 60 days
of the Borough notifying the requester that the copies are available
for pickup or delivery will be discarded and any copying fees obtained
by the Borough will be retained.
2.
If a requester seeking review of public records fails to contact
the Borough to arrange for review the responsive public records within
60 days of the Borough notifying the requester that the responsive
records are available for review then the Borough shall deem the request
withdrawn.
