Township of East Brandywine, PA Chapter 197 Records, Public Access to

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of East Brandywine 12-18-2002 by Res. No. 02-20; amended in its entirety 12-17-2008 by Res. No. 15-2008. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 197-1 Requests.

A. Public records will be available for inspection and copying at the Township Municipal Building during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the exception of weekends and holidays.

B. Requests for East Brandywine Township will be in writing and directed to the following Open Records Officers: Mary Beth Smedley, Township Secretary/Treasurer, at the Township Municipal Building, 1214 Horseshoe Pike, Downingtown, PA 19335 or Sgt. Gene Babetski at the East Brandywine Township Police Department, 1212 Horseshoe Pike, Downingtown, PA 19335. Written requests shall be on a form provided by the Township and shall include the date of the request, the name and address of the requester, identify, or describe the records sought with sufficient specificity to enable the Township to ascertain which records are being requested.

§ 197-2 Fees. [1]

Copy fees shall be as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors. If "true and correct certification" is requested, an additional charge, as shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, for each certification will be added. The Township will charge the actual cost for specialized documents, such as color copies or blueprints as well as the actual cost for fax, microfiche, or other media, and actual cost for postage. The Township will require prepayment if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

§ 197-3 Response.

A. The Township will make a good faith effort to provide the requested public records as promptly as possible. Township employees shall cooperate with those requesting to review and/or duplicate original Township documents while taking all reasonable measures to protect Township/Police Department documents from the possibility of theft and/or modification.

B. The Open Records Officer shall review all written requests for access to public records. As soon as possible, but no later than five business days after receiving a written request to access public records, the Open Records Officer shall respond to all such requests in a manner consistent with Act 100 of 2002, the Open Records Law,[1] and Act 3 of 2008 the Right-to-Know Law.[2]

[1] Editor's Note: See now 65 Pa.C.S.A. § 701 et seq. for the Sunshine Act.

[2] Editor's Note: See 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.

C. Exception. Reasons the Township may not be able to respond within five business days include, but are not limited to:

(1) The request for access requires the retrieval of a record stored in a remote location.

(2) A timely response to the request for access cannot be accomplished due to specified staffing limitations.

(3) A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record is a public record subject to access under this Act.

(4) The requester has not complied with the policies regarding access to public records.

(5) The requester refuses to pay applicable fees as outlined in this chapter.

(6) Redaction of the records is required.

(7) The extent or nature of the request precludes a response within the required time period.

D. Upon a determination that one of the exceptions listed above applies, the Open Records Officer shall send written notice to the requester within five business days of receipt of the request. The notice shall include a statement notifying the requester that the request for access is being reviewed, the reason for the review, a reasonable date that a response is expected to be provided and an estimate of applicable fees owed when the record becomes available.

E. If the date that a response is expected to be provided is in excess of 30 days, following the five business days permitted by the Act, the request for access shall be deemed denied unless the requester has agreed in writing to an extension to the date specified in the notice. If the requester agrees to the extension, the request shall be deemed denied on the day following the date specified in the notice if the Township has not provided a response by that date.

§ 197-4 Denials.

If the Township'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. Date of the response.

E. The procedure to appeal the denial of access under the Act.

§ 197-5 Appeals process.

A. If a written request is denied, the requester may file an appeal in writing within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township's response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial to Terry Mutchler, Executive Director, Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Plaza Level, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0220.

B. Appeals of criminal records shall be made to Chester County District Attorney Joseph W. Carroll, 201 West Market Street, P.O. Box 2746, West Chester, PA 19380-0989.