[Ord. 2009-01, 1/12/2009]
1.
It is the policy of the Township to require the presence of a designated
employee when public records are examined and inspected and to charge
reasonable fees for duplication of public records of the Township.
Leet Township designates the Township Administrator as responsible
for assuring compliance with the Pennsylvania Right-to- Know Law,
in accordance with the following guidelines:
A.
The Township Administrator is hereby appointed as the Open Records
Officer and he/she may designate certain employee(s) to process public
record requests.
B.
The Open Records Officer is responsible for minimizing, where possible,
the financial impact to the Township regarding the resources utilized
in the receipt and processing of public record requests and the retrieval
and copying of public records.
C.
All requests for public records of the Township under this policy
shall be specific in identifying and describing each public record
requested. In no case shall the Township be required to create a public
record in a manner in which the Township does not currently compile,
maintain, format or organize the public record. All requests for public
records shall be submitted in writing and on a form provided by the
Township, as attached hereto, entitled "Public Record Re- view/Duplication
Request" form.
D.
The designated employee shall make a good faith effort to determine
whether each record requested is a public record.
E.
The Township shall facilitate a reasonable response to a request
for Township public records. In no case is the Township expected to
provide extraordinary staff to respond to the request, but will respond
in a manner consistent with Township administrative responsibilities
and consistent with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know
Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.
F.
The designated employee shall respond to the requester within five
business days from the date of receipt of the written request. If
the Township does not respond within five business day of receipt
thereof, the request is deemed denied.
G.
The response provided by the Township shall consist of (1) approval
for access to the public record; (2) review of the request by the
designated employee; or (3) denial of access to the record requested.
H.
If access to the public record requested is approved, the public
record shall be available for access during the regular business hours
of the Township. The designated employee shall cooperate fully with
the requester while also taking reasonable measures to protect Township
public records from the possibility of theft and/or modification.
The presence of a designated employee is required when public records
are examined and inspected.
I.
Fees for duplication of public records shall be as follows:
(1)
Photocopying-as established by resolution of the Township or
the by Office of Open Records.
(2)
Duplication of public electronic and/or tape records-actual
cost to the Township of duplicating the public record.
(3)
Certified copies-as established by resolution of the Township
or by the Office of Open Records, or, in the absence of same, the
reasonable cost thereof.
(4)
Postage-actual cost to the Township of mailing the public record.
(5)
Complex and extensive data sets-as established by resolution
of the Township or by the Office of Open Records.
(6)
The Township hereby resolves to adopt the Fee Schedule attached
hereto as Exhibit 1-5-A.
(7)
The Township may in its discretion waive fees.
J.
In the event the estimated cost of fulfilling a request submitted
under this policy is expected to exceed $100, the designated employee(s)
shall obtain 50% of the expected cost in advance of fulfilling the
request to avoid unwarranted expense of Township resources.
K.
If the request is being reviewed, the notice provided by the Township
shall be in writing and include the reason for the review and the
expected response date, which shall be within 30 days of the notice
of review. If the Township does not respond within 30 days thereof,
the request is deemed denied. Review of the request is limited to
situations where:
(1)
The record requested contains information which is subject to
access, as well as information which is not subject to access and
must be redacted prior to a grant of access. The redacted information
is considered a denial as to that information.
(2)
The record requires retrieval from a remote location.
(3)
A timely response cannot be accomplished due to bonafide and
specific staffing limitations.
(4)
A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record
requested is a public record.
(5)
The requester has failed to comply with the Township's
policy and procedure requirements.
(6)
The requester refuses to pay the applicable fees.
(7)
The extent or nature of the request is such that it precludes
a response.
|
If one of the foregoing reasons applies and the Township will
not provide the information within five days, the Township must send
Notice of the Delay. The notice must be sent within five days of receipt
of the request and must contain the following information:
| ||
|
(1)
|
A statement that the request is being reviewed.
| |
|
(2)
|
The reason for the review.
| |
|
(3)
|
A reasonable date that a response is expected to be provided.
| |
|
(4)
|
An estimate of applicable fees.
| |
L.
If access to the record requested is denied, the notice provided
by the Township shall be in writing as indicated on the form attached
hereto entitled "Denial of Request to Review and/or Duplicate Township
Records."
M.
If the request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file
exceptions or an appeal with the Township within 15 business days
of the mailing date of the Township's notice of denial, or within
15 days of a deemed denial. The exceptions or appeal must:
N.
The Township shall review the exceptions and may conduct a hearing
to assist in making a final determination. A final determination will
be made within 30 days of the mailing date of the exceptions, unless
extended by the parties. If the denial is upheld, the decision shall
contain a written explanation of the reason for denial and an explanation
of the process for further appeal.
O.
The Township shall not be required to permit access to Township computers
or the computer of any employee or official of the Township.
P.
The Township shall provide a record in the medium requested if it
exists in that medium; otherwise, it shall be provided in the medium
in which it exists.
Q.
If the Township determines that a public record contains information
that is subject to access as well as information that is not subject
to access, the Township must grant access to the information that
is subject to disclosure and deny access to the remaining information.
R.
If a record is available through publicly accessible electronic means,
the Township's response to a record request may consist of notification
to the requester that the record is available through such means.
S.
Access to public records shall only be required during regular business
hours of the Township.
T.
This policy shall be posted conspicuously at the Township Administration
Building.
U.
This policy shall take effect on January 1, 2009, and all other ordinances
relating to public access to records are repealed.
