Borough of Rosslyn Farms, PA Records

In accordance with Act 3 of 2008, as amended (hereinafter the "Act"), adopted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Council of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms hereby repeals in its entirety Chapter 35 of its Codified Ordinances, and hereby adopts the following chapter in its place, to be known as the "Right to Know Law."

§ 35-2 Open records officer.

The following official is hereby designated as the open records officer, at the following address:

Borough Secretary

Open Records Officer

Borough of Rosslyn Farms

200 Rosslyn Road

Carnegie, PA 15106

The Borough Secretary may designate one or more employees to serve in his place during any period of absence or nonavailability.

§ 35-3 Hours and place of access.

Public records shall be available for access during regular business hours of the Borough Secretary of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms.

Records of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms shall generally be made available at the business office of the Secretary of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms at 790 Holiday Drive, Foster Plaza, Building 11, 3^rd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, or as otherwise designated by the open records officer in the response to a request for access.

§ 35-4 Request requirements.

All requests for access to public records shall be in writing and submitted to the open records officer at the address designated in this article set forth in § 35-2A or 35-3B above, delivered by regular mail, postage prepaid, hand delivery, or by any other means for the delivery of the written request to the designated office. Electronic delivery of the request via e-mail or facsimile is not permissible.

The request shall be submitted to the Borough's open records officer only by use of one of the following forms:

(1)

The uniform form adopted by the Office of Open Records; or

(2)

The form adopted and approved by the Borough of Rosslyn Farms.

All requests for access to records received by the Borough of Rosslyn Farms shall be directed to its open records officer.

The request for access to public records shall identify or describe the records sought with sufficient specificity to enable the open records officer to ascertain which records are being requested and shall include the name and address to which the open records officer shall address a response.

Nothing in this article shall require the open records officer to respond to any request that is submitted by electronic means, via e-mail or facsimile, or by any means other than by a written request mailed to or hand delivered to the address indicated in either § 35-2A or 3B above.

The Borough shall not be required to create a public record which does not exist or to compile, maintain, format or organize a public record in a manner in which the Borough does not currently compile, maintain, format or organize the public record which is the subject of the request.

A record provided to a requestor 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 at the Borough.

Nothing in this article shall in any way be deemed to enlarge, modify or make public any record that is not required to be produced by the Act or that is otherwise exempt from production under the Act.

The request shall certify that the requester is a legal resident of the United States or that the requester is an agency, as defined in the Act.

§ 35-5 Response to written requests.

Upon receipt of a request for a public record, the open records officer shall:

(1)

Note on the request the date of receipt of the request.

(2)

Compute the day on which the five-business-day requirement to respond will expire and note that date on the written request.

(3)

Maintain an electronic or paper copy of the written request, including all documents submitted with the request, until the request has been fulfilled.

(4)

If the request is denied in whole or in part, the written request shall be maintained for 30 days, or if an appeal is filed, until a final determination is issued by the appeals officer or the appeal is deemed denied.

§ 35-6 Extension of time to respond.

Upon receipt of a written request for access, the open records officer shall determine if one of the following applies:

(1)

The request requires redaction as authorized by the Act.

(2)

The request requires retrieval of a record stored in a remote location.

(3)

A timely response to the request cannot be accomplished due to bona fide and specified staffing limitations.

(4)

A legal review of the request is necessary to determine whether the record request is subject to access under the Act.

(5)

The requester has not complied with the Borough's Right-to-Know Law procedures.

(6)

The requestor refuses to pay the fees authorized by the Act and this article.

(7)

The extent or nature of the request precludes a response within the required period.

In the event one of the factors set forth in Subsection A above applies, a written notice, as set forth hereafter, shall be sent to the requestor within the five business days set forth in § 35-5A(2) above.

The written notice set forth in Subsection B above shall notify the requestor:

(1)

That the request for access 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 the applicable fees owed when the record becomes available.

If the reasonable response date set forth in Subsection C(3) above is in excess of 30 days following the five business days initially allowed, the request shall be deemed denied, unless the requestor has agreed, in writing, to an extension to the date specified in the notice.

(1)

If the requestor agrees to the extension, the request shall be deemed denied on the day following the date specified in the notice if the open records officer has not provided a response by that date.

If a request is denied in whole or in part, the denial shall be written and shall include:

(1)

A description of the record requested.

(2)

The reasons for the denial, with citation to supporting legal authority.

(3)

The type/printed name, title, business address, business telephone number and signature of the open records officer who authorized the denial.

(4)

The date of the response.

(5)

The procedure to appeal the denial of access.

§ 35-7 Appeal procedure.

Any denial of a written request for access may be appealed by the requestor to the State Office of Open Records established in the Department of Community and Economic Development within 15 business days of the mailing date of the open records officer's response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial.

The appeal shall state the grounds upon which the requestor asserts that the record is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the open records officer for delaying or denying the request.

The appeals officer designated by the Office of Open Records shall thereafter issue a determination in accordance with the Act.

A petition for review of the final determination of the appeals officer may thereafter be filed with the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County in accordance with and as authorized by the Act. The filing of such petition shall stay the release of documents until such time as a final decision has been issued.

§ 35-8 Fees.

Fees for photocopies, printing from electronic media or microfilm, copying onto electronic media, transmission by facsimile or other electronic means, if authorized by this article, shall be as established by the Office of Open Records, namely:

(1)

For single-sided copies, black and white, not in excess of 8.5 x 11 inches: the sum of $0.25 per page.

(2)

All other copies or duplication shall be charged based on the actual cost incurred as authorized by the State Office of Open Records.

The production of records shall not require the Borough to certify records. In the event certification is requested by the requestor for the purpose of legally verifying the public record, the requestor shall be assessed a charge as established by the State Office of Open Records, namely $5 for such certification.

If requested records are only maintained in a nonpaper format, duplication fees shall be limited to the lesser of the fee for duplication on paper or the fee for duplication in the original media format of the record, unless the requestor specifically requires the more-expensive medium.

The actual cost of mailing shall be charged.

Reasonable costs for complying with a request may be charged if authorized by the Act.

In the event the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed $100, the requestor shall prepay the estimated fees prior to being granted access to the public records.

In the event the open records officer's response to a request states that copies of the records are available for delivery at specified offices of the Borough and the records are not retrieved within 60 days of the date of the response, the Borough may dispose of the copies not retrieved and retain any fees paid.

§ 35-9 Conflict with other provisions.

In the event any part of this article is in conflict with any mandatory portion of the Act, then only that portion of this article shall be deemed in conflict, and this article shall be deemed amended to comply with the Act.

§ 35-10 Availability of policy.

This article shall be available for inspection at the Office of the Borough Secretary at 790 Holiday Drive, Foster Plaza, Building 11, 3^rd Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Article II Records Retention and Disposition

[Adopted 2-9-2009 by Ord. No. 363]

§ 35-11 Document retention and disposition schedule.

The document retention and disposition schedule of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms shall be in accordance with the Municipal Records Act, 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 901 et seq. as amended, and the regulations adopted and as may hereafter be amended at 46 Pa. Code § 15.51 et seq.

It is the intent of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms to follow the schedule of retention and disposition as may be adopted from time to time by the Local Government Records Committee acting under and pursuant to the authority granted to it by the Municipal Records Act.

Each individual act of records disposition shall be approved by resolution of Council of the Borough of Rosslyn Farms.

Nothing in this article shall prevent the Borough of Rosslyn Farms from retaining records longer than the periods which may be provided in the schedules approved by the Local Government Records Committee.