[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Catasauqua as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-3-2008 by Ord. No. 1227]
The purpose of this policy is to assure compliance
with Act 3 of 2008, the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, as amended;
to provide access to public records of Catasauqua Borough; to preserve
the integrity of Catasauqua Borough's records; and to minimize the
financial impact to the residents of the Borough regarding the resources
utilized in the receipt and processing of public record requests and
the retrieval and copying of public records.
A.
The Borough of Catasauqua hereby designates the Borough
Manager as the Open Records Officer of the general Borough documents.
As concerns all police documents, the Borough designates the Chief
of Police of the Catasauqua Police Department as the Open Records
Officer. It is the policy of the Borough to require the presence of
a designated employee when public records are examined and inspected.
B.
Further, the Borough will charge reasonable fees for
the duplication of public records of the Borough or the Police Department.
C.
In accord with the Right to Know Act, the Open Records
Officer will comply with the following guidelines to the extent practical:
(1)
Upon receiving a request for a public record, the
Open Records Officer shall:
(2)
The Borough Manager/Chief of Police may designate
certain employee(s) to process public record requests.
(3)
All requests for public records of the Borough under
this policy shall be specific in identifying and describing each public
record requested. In no case shall the Borough 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.
All requests for public records shall be submitted in writing on forms
prepared and provided by the Borough, a copy of which is attached
to this article,[1] or on the form of the commonwealth's Office of Open Records.
No other form will be accepted. All requests shall include the date
of the request; requestor's name, address, and telephone number; certification
of United States residency; signature of requestor; and, if duplication
is requested, appropriate payment.
[1]
Editor's Note: A copy of the form is included at the end of this chapter.
(4)
The Open Records Officer, or designated employee,
shall make a good faith effort to determine whether each record requested
is a public record.
(5)
The Open Records Officer or designated employee shall
respond to the requestor within five business days from the date of
receipt of the written request. If the Borough does not respond within
five business days of receipt thereof, the request is deemed denied.
(7)
The response provided by the Borough shall consist
of:
(a)
Approval for access to the public record;
(b)
Redaction of portions of the public record;
or
(c)
Request for additional time for the retrieval
of the stored record in a remote location;
(d)
Inform the party that additional time will be
necessary because of staffing limitation;
(e)
Inform the party that legal review is necessary
to determine whether the record is subject to access under the Act;
or
(f)
Request an extension of time from the requestor,
in writing.
(8)
The fees for duplication of public records shall be
as established by the commonwealth's Office of Open Records or the
Borough of Catasauqua, whichever is greater. The Borough may, at its
discretion, waive the fees.
(9)
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 the expected cost in advance of fulfilling
the request to avoid unwarranted expense of Borough resources.
(10)
Review of request.
(a)
If the request is being reviewed, the notice
provided by the Borough 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 Borough 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 that 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 staffing limitations;
[4]
A legal review is necessary to determine whether
the record requested is a public record;
[5]
The requestor has failed to comply with the
Borough's policy and procedure requirements; or
[6]
The requestor refuses to pay the applicable
fees.
[7]
The extent or nature of the request precludes
a response within the required time period.
(b)
Upon a determination that one of the factors
listed above applies, the Borough shall send written notice to the
requestor within five business days of receipt of the request for
access. The notice shall include a statement notifying the requestor
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.
If the date that a response is expected to be provided is in excess
of 30 days, following the five business days allowed for, the request
for access shall be deemed denied unless the requestor has agreed
in writing to an extension to the date specified in the notice. 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
agency has not provided a response by that date.
(11)
If access to the record requested is denied, the notice
provided by the Borough shall be in writing as indicated on the form
attached hereto[2] entitled "Denial of Request to Review and/or Duplicate
Catasauqua Borough Records."
[2]
Editor's Note: A copy of the form is included at the end of this chapter.
(12)
The Borough may:
(a)
Deny access to the public record under the provisions
of Act 3 of 2008 including, but not limited to, failure to comply
with the Borough's policies regarding access to records, and the requestor's
refusal to pay applicable fees authorized by this Act;
(b)
Deny the record as it is one of the exceptions
under Section 708 of the Public Records Act;
(c)
Deny the request as the record is protected
by privilege;
(d)
Deny the request as the record is exempt from
disclosure under any other federal or state law, regulation or judicial
order or decree;
(e)
Deny the record as it is a disruptive request;
(f)
Deny the record as it may request information
which could lead to disaster or potential damage.
(13)
Within 30 days of the mailing date of the final determination
of the appeals officer, the requestor or Borough may file a petition
for review or other document as required by rule of court with the
Court of Common Pleas for Lehigh County. The decision of the court
shall contain findings of fact and conclusions of law based upon the
evidence as a whole. The decision shall clearly and concisely explain
the rationale for the decision. A petition for review under this section
shall stay the release of documents until a decision is issued.
(14)
This policy shall be available for review at the Borough
office.
