[Adopted 1-5-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-02]
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 Eagles Mere Borough; to preserve
the integrity of Eagles Mere 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.
It is the policy of the Borough 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 Borough. Eagles Mere Borough designates the Borough
Secretary as the Open Records Officer, responsible for assuring compliance
with the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, in accordance with the following
guidelines:
A. The Borough Secretary shall process public records
requests.
B. The Borough Secretary is responsible for minimizing,
where possible, the financial impact to the Borough 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 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 and
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.
D. The Borough Secretary shall make a good faith effort
to determine whether each record requested is a public record.
E. The Borough shall facilitate a reasonable response
to a request for Eagles Mere Borough's public records. In no case
is the Borough expected to provide extraordinary staff to respond
to the request, but will respond in a manner consistent with the Borough's
administrative responsibilities and consistent with the requirements
of the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law.
F. The Borough Secretary shall respond to the requestor
within five business days from the date of receipt of the written
request. If the Borough dos not respond within five business days
of the receipt thereof, the request is deemed denied.
G. The response provided by the Borough shall consist
of:
(1) Approval for access to the public record;
(2) Review of the request by the Borough Secretary; 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 Borough. The Borough Secretary shall cooperate
fully with the requestor, while also taking reasonable measures to
protect the Borough's 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 established
by the Commonwealth's Office of Open Records. The Borough may at 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 Borough
Secretary shall obtain the expected cost in advance of fulfilling
the request to avoid unwarranted expense of Borough resources.
K. 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.
(1) Review of the request is limited to situations where:
(a)
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;
(b)
The record requires retrieval from a remote
location;
(c)
A timely response cannot be accomplished due
to staffing limitations;
(d)
A legal review is necessary to determine whether
the record requested is a public record;
(e)
The requestor has failed to comply with the
Borough's policy and procedure requirements; or
(f)
The requestor refuses to pay the applicable
fees.
(g)
The extent or nature of the request precludes
a response within the required time period.
(2) 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
Borough has not provided a response by that date.
L. 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 entitled "Denial of Request to Review and/or Duplicate
Eagles Mere Borough Records."
M. If the request is denied or deemed denied, the requestor
may file an appeal with the Commonwealth's Office of Open Records
within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Borough's notice
of denial, or within 15 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 Borough
for delaying or denying the request.
N. 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 Sullivan 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.
O. This policy shall be available for review at the Borough
office.