[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Vinland
as Title 3, Ch. 3, of the 2004 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The total cost of personnel, including wages, fringe benefits
and all other benefits and overhead related to the time spent in search
of records.
Any of the following Town of Vinland entities having custody
of a Town record: an office, elected official, agency, board, commission,
committee, council, department or public body corporate and politic
created by constitution, law, ordinance, rule or order, or a formally
constituted subunit of the foregoing.
That officer, department head, division head or employee of the Town designated under § 111-3 or otherwise responsible by law to keep and preserve any Town records or to file, deposit or keep such records in his or her office, or who is lawfully in possession or entitled to possession of such public records and who is required by this section to respond to requests for access to such records.
The actual cost of personnel plus all expenses for paper,
copier time, depreciation and supplies.
Any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual,
or electromagnetic information or electronically generated or stored
data is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
which has been created or is being kept by an authority. "Record"
includes, but is not limited to, handwritten, typed or printed pages,
maps, charts, photographs, films, recordings, tapes, optical disks,
and any other medium on which electronically generated or stored data
is recorded or preserved. "Record" does not include drafts, notes,
preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator's
personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person
for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the
personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or
her office; materials to which access is limited by copyright, patent
or bequest; and published materials in the possession of an authority
other than a public library which are available for sale, or which
are available for inspection at a public library.[1]
A.
Except as provided under §§ 111-7 and 111-9, each officer and employee of the Town shall safely keep and preserve all records received from his or her predecessor or other persons required by law to be filed, deposited or kept in his or her office, or which are in the lawful possession or control of the officer or employee or his or her deputies, or to the possession or control of which he or she or they may be lawfully entitled as such officers or employees.
B.
Upon the expiration of an officer's term of office or an employee's
term of employment, or whenever the office or position of employment
becomes vacant, each such officer or employee shall deliver to his
or her successor all records then in his or her custody, and the successor
shall receipt therefor to the officer or employee, who shall file
said receipt with the Town Clerk. If a vacancy occurs before a successor
is selected or qualifies, such records shall be delivered to and receipted
for by the Town Clerk, on behalf of the successor, to be delivered
to such successor upon the latter's receipt.
A.
Each elected official is the legal custodian of his or her records
and the records of his or her office, but the official may designate
the Town Clerk to act as the legal custodian.
B.
Unless otherwise provided in Subsection C, the Town Clerk or the Town Clerk's designee shall act as legal custodian for the Town and for any committees, commissions, boards or other authorities created by ordinance or resolution of the Town Board. The following offices or authorities shall have a legal custodian of records the individual so named.
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Authority
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Designated Legal Custodian
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|---|---|---|
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General Town records (including Board records)
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Town Clerk
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Financial records
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Town Treasurer
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Zoning/land use
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Zoning Administrator
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D.
Each legal custodian shall name a person to act as legal custodian
in his or her absence or in the absence of his or her designee, and
each legal custodian shall send notice of the designated deputy to
the Town Clerk.
E.
The Town Clerk shall establish criteria for establishing the records
system and shall cause the department/office records system to be
reviewed on an annual basis.
A.
Except as provided in § 111-6, any person has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of any record of provided in § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
B.
Records will be available for inspection and copying during all regular
office hours.
C.
If regular office hours are not maintained at the location where
records are kept, the records will be available for inspection and
copying with at least 48 hours' advance notice of intent to inspect
or copy.
D.
A requester shall be permitted to use facilities comparable to those
available to Town employees to inspect, copy or abstract a record.
E.
The legal custodian may require supervision during inspection or
may impose other reasonable restrictions on the manner of access to
an original record if the record is irreplaceable or easily damaged.
F.
A requester shall be charged a fee as established in the Town Fee
Schedule to defray the cost of copying records.
(1)
If the form of a written record does not permit copying, the actual
and necessary cost of photographing and photographic processing shall
be charged.
(2)
The actual full cost of providing a copy of other records not in
printed form on paper, such as films, computer printouts and audio
and video tapes, shall be charged.
(3)
If mailing or shipping is necessary, the actual cost thereof shall
also be charged.
(4)
There shall be no charge for locating a record unless the actual
cost therefor exceeds $50, in which case the actual cost shall be
determined by the legal custodian and billed to the requester.
(5)
The legal custodian shall estimate the cost of all applicable fees
and shall require a cash deposit adequate to assure payment, if such
estimate exceeds $5.
(6)
Elected and appointed officials of the Town shall not be required
to pay for public records they may reasonably require for the proper
performance of their official duties.
(7)
The legal custodian may provide copies of a record without charge
or at a reduced charge where he or she determines that waiver or reduction
of the fee is in the public interest.
G.
Pursuant to § 19.34, Wis. Stats., and the guidelines therein
listed, each authority shall adopt, prominently display and make available
for inspection and copying at its offices, for the guidance of the
public, a notice containing a description of its organization and
the established times and places at which, the legal custodian from
whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain information and
access to records in its custody, make requests for records, or obtain
copies of records, and the costs thereof. This subsection does not
apply to members of the Town Board.
A.
A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian. A request shall be deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested. However, a request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A request may be made orally, but a request must be in writing before an action to enforce the request is commenced under § 19.37, Wis. Stats. Except as provided below, no request may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request. No request may be refused because the request is received by mail, unless prepayment of a fee is required under § 111-4F(5). A requester may be required to show acceptable identification whenever the requested record is kept at a private residence or whenever security reasons or federal law or regulations so require.[1]
B.
Each custodian, upon request for any record, shall, as soon as practicable
and without delay, either fill the request or notify the requester
of the authority's determination to deny the request in whole or in
part and the reasons therefor. If the legal custodian, after conferring
with the Town Attorney, determines that a written request is so general
as to be unduly time consuming, the party making the request may first
be required to itemize his or her request in a manner which would
permit reasonable compliance.
C.
A request for a record may be denied as provided in § 111-6. If a request is made orally, the request may be denied orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons denying the request is made by the requester within five business days of the oral denial. If a written request is denied in whole or in part, the requester shall receive a written statement of the reasons for denying the request. Every written denial of a request shall inform the requester that, if the request for the record was made in writing, then the determination is subject to review upon petition for a writ of mandamus under § 19.37(1), Wis. Stats., or upon application to the Attorney General or a district attorney.
A.
As provided in § 19.36, Wis. Stats., the following records
are exempt from inspection under this chapter.
(1)
Records specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal
law or authorized to be exempted from disclosure by state law;
(2)
Any record relating to investigation information obtained for law
enforcement purposes, if federal law or regulations require exemption
from disclosure or if exemption from disclosure is a condition to
receipt of aids by the state;
(3)
Computer programs and files, although the material used as input
for a computer program/file or the material procedure as a product
of the computer program is subject to inspection; and
B.
As provided by § 43.30, Wis. Stats., public library circulation
records are exempt from inspection under this section.
C.
In responding to a request for inspection or copying of a record
which is not specifically exempt from disclosure, the legal custodian,
after conferring with the Town Attorney, may deny the request, in
whole or in part, only if he or she determines that the harm to the
public interest resulting from disclosure would outweigh the public
interest in full access to the requested record. Examples of matters
for which disclosure may be refused include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(1)
Records obtained under official pledges of confidentiality which
were necessary and given in order to obtain the information contained
in them.
(2)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(a), Wis. Stats., records of current
deliberations after a quasi-judicial hearing.
(3)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(b) and (c), Wis. Stats., records
of current deliberations concerning employment, dismissal, promotion,
demotion, compensation, performance, or discipline of any Town officer
or employee, or the investigation of charges against a Town officer
or employee, unless such officer or employee consents to such disclosure.
(4)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(d), Wis. Stats., records concerning
current strategy for crime detection or prevention.
(5)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(e), Wis. Stats., records of current
deliberations or negotiations on the purchase of Town property, investing
of Town funds, or other Town business, whenever competitive or bargaining
reasons require nondisclosure.
(6)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(f), Wis. Stats., financial, medical,
social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons
which, if disclosed, would be likely to have a substantial adverse
effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such history
or data.
(7)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(g), Wis. Stats., communications
between legal counsel for the Town and any officer, agent or employee
of the Town, when advice is being rendered concerning strategy with
respect to current litigation in which the Town or any of its officers,
agents or employees is or is likely to become involved, or communications
which are privileged under § 905.03, Wis. Stats.
(8)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(h), Wis. Stats., requests for confidential
written advice from an ethics board and records of advice given by
such ethics board on such requests.
D.
If a record contains information that may be made public and information
that may not be made public, the custodian of the record shall provide
the information that may be made public and delete the information
that may not be made public from the record before release. The custodian
shall confer with the Town Attorney when separating out the exempt
material. If in the judgment of the custodian and the Town Attorney
there is no feasible way to separate the exempt material from the
nonexempt material without unreasonably jeopardizing nondisclosure
of the exempt material, the entire record shall be withheld from disclosure.
A.
Historical records. Under § 19.21(4)(a), Wis. Stats., municipalities
must notify the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW) prior
to destroying records. However, the SHSW has waived the required 60
days' notice for any record marked "W" (waived notice). SHSW must
be notified prior to destruction of a record marked "N" (nonwaived).
Notice is also required for any record not listed in this section.
B.
Microfilming or optical imaging of records. Local units of government
may keep and preserve public records through the use of microfilm,
providing the microfilm or optical imaging meets the applicable standards
in § 16.612, Wis. Stats. Retention periods and estimated
costs and benefits of converting records between media should be considered.
After verification, paper records converted to microfilm or optical
imaging should be destroyed. The retention periods identified in this
section apply to records in any media.
C.
Destruction after request for inspection. No requested records may
be destroyed until after the request is granted or 60 days after the
request is denied. If an action is commenced under § 19.37,
Wis. Stats., the requested record may not be destroyed until after
a court order is issued and all appeals have been completed. [See
§ 19.35(5), Wis. Stats.]
D.
Destruction pending litigation. No record subject to pending litigation
shall be destroyed until the litigation is resolved.
F.
(1)
Records description. Provides a brief description of the records.
Group specific items such as forms into logical groups that have the
same function or purpose.
(2)
Period of retention. Refers to the time that the identified records
must be kept until destruction.
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CR
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Stands for "creation," which usually refers to receipt or creation
of the record.
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FIS
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Stands for "current fiscal year" and the additional amount of
time as indicated.
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EVT
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Stands for "event" and refers to an occurrence that starts the
retention clock ticking. Close of contract, termination of employees,
and disposition of a case are common events.
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P
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Stands for "permanent retention."
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(3)
Time. Is expressed in years unless specifically identified as month
or day.
(4)
Authority. Refers to any specific statute, administrative rule, or
specific regulation that determines retention of the record. In most
cases this will be blank because units of government have discretion
to establish a time period.
(5)
SHSW notify. Refers to whether or not the State Historical Society
of Wisconsin has waived the required statutory notification prior
to destruction of records.
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W
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Means records are not historical and the required notification
is waived.
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|---|---|---|
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N
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Means the records may have secondary historical value, and,
therefore, SHSW notification is required on a case-by-case basis prior
to destruction.
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N/A
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Means "not applicable" and refers to those circumstances where
a local unit of government is retaining a record permanently.
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Records retention schedules are on file with the Town Clerk.
A.
Adoption. This section adopts by reference § 70.47(7)(af),
Wis. Stats.; income and expense information provided by the property
owner to an Assessor for the purposes of establishing the valuation
for assessment purposes by the income method of valuation shall be
confidential and not a public record open to inspection or copying
under § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
B.
Exceptions. An officer may make disclosure of such information under
the following circumstances:
(1)
The Assessor has access to such information in the performance of
his/her duties;
(2)
The Board of Review may review such information when needed, in its
opinion, to decide upon a contested assessment;
(3)
Another person or body has the right to review such information due
to the intimate relationship to the duties of an office or as set
by law;
(4)
The officer is complying with a court order; or
(5)
The person providing the income and expense information has contested
the assessment level at either the Board of Review or by filing a
claim for excessive assessment under § 74.37, Wis. Stats,
in which case the base records are open and public.
