[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Willistown as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-19-2009 by Res. No. 10-2009]
A.
Subject: public access to information.
B.
Purpose: to establish policies and procedures for
the release to the public of public records in the custody of Willistown
Township pursuant to the Right-to-Know Law, the Act of February 14,
2008, P.L. 6, No. 3, § 101, 65 P.S. § 67.101 et.
seq.
C.
Scope: applies to all boards, commissions, committees,
officials and employees of the Township.
A.
It is the policy of Willistown Township to afford
any individual or business the opportunity to examine or copy public
records at reasonable hours and places.
B.
The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law requires municipalities
to provide access to public records, which is specifically defined
by the law. The Right-to-Know Law now defines "public records" to
include financial accounts, minutes, orders or decisions, regardless
of physical form or characteristics. In addition, other Pennsylvania
laws provide that specific information, such as permit applications,
are available to the public. It is the Township's intent to conform
to all state laws governing the access to public records.
C.
Information may be examined or copied in the form
available to the Township at the Township's municipal building. The
Township is not required to sort information, extract data or prepare
reports in formats which are not in the Township's possession. The
Township is not required to release public records to the custody
of the others.
A.
The Township has appointed an Open Records Officer
who is responsible for ensuring that the public has proper access
to public records in the custody of the Township.
B.
Requests to view public records must be made by written
application on a form supplied to the Township or the Commonwealth's
Office of Open Records and sent to the attention of the Open Records
Officer. It is the intent of the Township to grant or deny requests
for access to public records without undue delay, subject to a response
time of five working days, unless the Township notifies the requester
within said period of a delay in providing a response or production
of the records as allowed under the law. The delay in providing a
response or producing the records is limited to 30 days from the date
of the request, unless the requester grants the Township an extension.
The Township will not honor on-the-spot requests, unless the Open
Records Officer determines that the information is readily available.
If the request is granted, it is the responsibility of the Open Records
Officer to advise the requester promptly of the time at which documents
will be available for viewing or copying.
C.
If a citizen is denied access, the Open Records Officer
will notify the requester of the reason. In the notification of denial,
the Open Records Officer will inform the requester of his/her right
to appeal the decision to the Office of Open Records within 15 working
days from the date of mailing the notice of denial.
D.
In order to protect the security of material in the
possession of the Township, file reviews may be monitored.
A.
The Township hereby adopts as its fee schedule for
any public records request the following:
(1)
Copies are charged on a $0.25 per page per side (8 1/2
x 11) basis. Pennsylvania sales tax will be added to charges for copying
documents.
(2)
If a public record is only maintained electronically
or in other nonpaper media, and the requester asks for the record
in that media, duplication fees shall be the cost incurred by the
Township to supply the necessary device required to transfer the public
record in that media. (In order to maintain the security of the Township's
electronic files, the Township reserves the right to require the requester
to receive the public record on a transfer device purchased by the
Township.)
(3)
Postage fee not to exceed actual mailing costs.
(4)
Requests for certification shall be charged $1 per
document regardless of the amount of pages. Each document requires
separate certification and fee.
(5)
All third party charges incurred by the Township necessary
to fulfill the request; with the exception of legal fees incurred
to determine if records are public records.
(6)
Township employee hourly rate for the time spent fulfilling
the request; with the exception of time spent reviewing a record to
determine if it is a public record and making duplications.
B.
If any of the above established fees is preempted
by a fee schedule established by the Office of Open Records, the Township
shall charge the fee established by the Office of Open Records. To
the extent possible, the Open Records Officer will make the direct
charges known to the requester before the request if filled, and advise
the requester if personnel costs will be charged. If the total charge
exceeds $100, the requester will be required to pay costs before the
documents are prepared.
C.
A schedule of all current fees is to be available
from the Open Records Officer.
The conditions under which a requester may review
public records in the control of the Township are subject to the procedures
and policies established by the Township based on the time and location
of the requester's review and the materials to be reviewed.
The Township has appointed a Deputy Open Records
Officer who is responsible for ensuring that the public has proper
access to public records in the custody of the Township when the Open
Records Officer is unable to perform the duties assigned to the position
under the Right-to-Know Law or this article. During the time the Deputy
Open Records Officer performs any of the duties of the Open Records
Officer, the Deputy Open Records Officer shall follow the policies
and procedures described in this article.
Policy is effective on the 19th day of January,
2009.
