Borough of Glenolden, PA Chapter 30 Records

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Glenolden as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Access to Public Records

[Adopted 11--18--2008 by Ord. No. 2061[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Ch. A169, Records, Public Access to, adopted 7-17-2001 by Res. No. 3-2001.

§ 30-1 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

FINANCIAL RECORD

Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds or acquisition, use or disposal of services, supplies, materials, equipment or property; or the salary or other payments or expenses paid to an officer or employee, including the individual's name and title; and a financial audit report, excluding the audit's underlying work papers.

PUBLIC RECORD

The public records of this Borough shall mean a record, including a financial record, which is not exempt from being disclosed under the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law[1] or under any other federal or state law or regulation, judicial decree or order and which is not protected by a privilege. Public records shall not include the following:

A. Those which would cause the loss of federal or state funds if disclosed.

B. A record, the disclosure of which would be reasonably likely to result in a substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm to or the personal security of an individual.

C. A record, the disclosure of which would be reasonably likely to jeopardize or threaten public safety or preparedness.

D. A record, the disclosure of which creates a reasonable likelihood of endangering the safety or physical security of a building, public utility, resource, infrastructure, facility or information storage system.

E. A record regarding computers which if disclosed would be reasonably likely to jeopardize computer security.

F. Medical information.

G. Personal identification information.

H. Certain employee information.

I. Labor relations, negotiations and arbitration.

J. Predecisional drafts of bills, policy, management directives, ordinances or amendments to any of the foregoing.

K. Predecisional deliberations.

L. Trade secrets and confidential proprietary information.

M. Personal notes and working papers prepared by or for a public official or agency employee for his/her own personal use.

N. Donor identity, except donations to a public official or agency.

O. Unpublished works or documents.

P. Academic records.

Q. Criminal investigations.

R. Noncriminal investigations.

S. Records pertaining to transmissions received by emergency dispatch personnel, including 911 recordings.

T. DNA and RNA records.

U. Records pertaining to autopsies.

V. Draft minutes until the next regularly scheduled meeting; executive session records are exempt.

W. Real estate appraisals and feasibility studies.

X. Certain library records.

Y. Precontract award documents; bidder information prior to bid opening.

Z. Communications with insurance company or risk management.

AA. Information regarding recipients of social services.

BB. Records regarding the identity of a minor.

RECORD

Information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that documents a Borough transaction or activity and is created, received or retained pursuant to law or in connection with a Borough transaction, business or activity, including a document; paper; letter; map; book; tape; photograph; film or sound recording; information stored or maintained electronically; and a data-processed or image-processed document.

RESPONSE

The Borough's notice informing a requester of a granting of access to a record or the Borough's written notice to a requester granting, denying, or partially granting and partially denying access to a requested record.

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

§ 30-2 Authority.

The Borough Council shall make the Borough's public records available for access and duplication to any United States resident, in accordance with law, Borough ordinances, policy and administrative regulations.

§ 30-3 Designation of Open Records Officer; duties and responsibilities.

A. The Borough Council shall designate an Open Records Officer, who shall be responsible to:

(1) Review and respond to written requests in accordance with law, Borough policy and administrative regulations.

(2) Direct requests to other appropriate individuals in the Borough or in another agency.

(3) Track the Borough's progress in responding to requests.

(4) Issue interim and final responses to submitted requests.

(5) Maintain a log of all record requests and their disposition.

(6) Ensure Borough staff is trained to perform assigned job functions relative to requests for access to records.

(7) The Open Records Officer shall ensure that the Board policy governing access to public records and the list of applicable fees are posted at the Borough office.

B. Upon receiving a request for access to a record, the Open Records Officer shall:

(1) Note the date of receipt on the written request.

(2) Compute and note on the written request the day on which the five-day period for response will expire.

(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 written request is denied, maintain the written request for 30 days or, if an appeal is filed, until a final determination is issued or the appeal is deemed denied.

§ 30-4 Guidelines for requester and Borough.

A. A public record shall be provided to the requester in the medium requested if it exists in that form; otherwise, it shall be provided in its existing medium.

B. Requesters may access and procure copies of the public records of the Borough during the regular business hours of the Borough office.

C. A requester's right of access does not include the right to remove a record from the control or supervision of the Open Records Officer.

D. When responding to a request for access, the Borough is not required to create a public record that does not exist nor to compile, maintain, format or organize a record in a manner which the Borough does not currently use.

E. Information shall be made available to individuals with disabilities in an appropriate format, upon request and with sufficient advance notice.

F. The Borough shall not limit the number of records requested.

G. The Borough shall post at the administrative office and on the Borough's website the following information:

(1) Contact information for the Open Records Officer.

(2) Contact information for the Commonwealth's Office of Open Records or other applicable appeals officer.

(3) The form to be used to file a request, with a notation that the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records form may also be used if the Borough decides to create its own form.

(4) Board policy, administrative regulations and procedures governing requests for access to the Borough's public records.

§ 30-5 Request for access.

A. A written request for access to a public record shall be submitted on the required form(s), and addressed to the office of the Open Records Officer in writing and/or by mail: Open Records Office, 36 Boon Avenue, Glenolden, PA 19036.

B. Written requests may be submitted to the Borough in person, by mail, to a designated fax machine, and to a designated e-mail address.

C. Each request must include the following information:

(1) Identification or description of the requested record, in sufficient detail.

(2) Name and address of the person to receive the Borough's response.

D. The Borough shall not require an explanation of the reason for the request or the intended use of the requested record, unless otherwise required by law.

§ 30-6 Response to request.

A. Borough employees shall be directed to forward requests for access to public records to the Open Records Officer.

B. Upon receipt of a written request for access to a record, the Open Records Officer shall determine if the requested record is a public record and if the Borough has possession, custody or control of that record.

C. The Open Records Officer or designee shall respond promptly within five business days of receiving the request. If the Borough fails to respond to a request within five business days, the request for access shall be deemed denied.

D. The initial response shall grant access to the requested record, deny access to the requested record, partially grant and partially deny access to the requested record, or notify the requestor of the need for an extension of time to fully respond.

E. Extension of time.

(1) If the Borough determines that more than five business days are required to respond to the request, in accordance with the reasons stated in the Right to Know Law,[1] notice shall be sent indicating that the request is being reviewed, the reason for the delay, the reason for the review, a date when the response will be provided, and an estimate of any fees.

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

(2) Up to a thirty-day extension for one of the listed reasons does not require the consent of the requester. If the response is not given by the specified date, it shall be deemed denied on the day following that date.

(3) A requester may consent in writing to an extension that exceeds 30 days, in which case 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.

§ 30-7 Grant of request.

A. If the Open Records Officer determines that the request will be granted, the response shall inform the requester that access is granted and either include information on the regular business hours of the administration office, provide electronic access, or state where the requester may go to inspect the records or information electronically at a publicly accessible site. The response shall include a copy of the fee schedule in effect, a statement that prepayment of fees is required in a specified amount if access to the records will cost in excess of $100, and the medium in which the records will be provided.

B. A public record shall be provided to the requester in the medium requested if it exists in that form; otherwise, it shall be provided in its existing medium. However, the Borough is not required to permit use of its computers.

C. The Open Records Officer may respond to a records request by notifying the requester that the record is available through publicly accessible electronic means or that the Borough shall provide access to inspect the record electronically. If the requester, within 30 days following receipt of the Borough's notice of access by electronic means, submits a written request to have the record converted to paper, the Borough shall provide access in printed form within five days of receipt of the request for conversion to paper.

D. A public record that the Borough does not possess but is possessed by a third party with whom the Borough has contracted to perform a governmental function and which directly relates to that governmental function shall be considered a public record of the Borough. When the Borough contracts with such a third party, the Borough shall require the contractor to agree in writing to comply with requests for such records and to provide the Borough with the requested record in a timely manner to allow the Borough to comply with the law.

E. The Open Records Officer shall notify a third party of a record request if the requested record contains a trade secret or confidential proprietary information, in accordance with law and administrative regulations.

F. If the Open Records Officer responds to a requester that a copy of the requested record is available for delivery at the administration office and the requester does not retrieve the record within 60 days of the Borough's response, the Borough shall dispose of the copy and retain any fees paid to date.

§ 30-8 Denial of request.

A. If the Open Records Officer denies a request for access to a record, a response shall be sent within five business days of receiving the request. The response denying the request shall include the following:

(1) Description of the record requested.

(2) Specific reasons for denial, including a citation of supporting authority.

(3) Name, title, business address and telephone number, and signature of the Open Records Officer on whose authority the denial was issued.

(4) Date of the response.

(5) Procedure for the requester to appeal a denial of access.

B. The Borough shall not deny access to a public record based on the intended use by the requester.

C. The Open Records Officer may deny a request for access to a record if the requester has made repeated requests for that same record and the repeated requests have placed an unreasonable burden on the Borough.

D. The Open Records Officer may deny a request for access to a record when timely access is not possible due to a disaster, or when access may cause physical damage or irreparable harm to the record. To the extent possible, a record's contents shall be made accessible even when the record is physically unavailable.

E. Information that is not subject to access and is redacted from a public record shall be deemed a denial.

§ 30-9 Appeal of denial.

A. If a request for access to a public record is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Open Records Officer's response or a deemed denial to Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, 400 North Street Plaza Level, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225.

B. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records or designee shall make a final written determination of the request within 30 days of the date the appeal was received. If denied, a written explanation shall be provided.

C. The final determination shall be the final order of the Office of Open Records.

D. The requester may appeal the Office of Open Record's final order by petitioning the Court of Common Pleas, in accordance with the provisions of law.

§ 30-10 Fees.

A. Duplicates of public records shall be provided by the Borough upon payment of applicable fees.

B. A list of fees that may apply shall be provided to each requester, posted at the Borough's office, and be made available electronically.

C. The Borough shall not assess any fees for staff time or resources used to evaluate a request for access to public records.

D. The Borough may require prepayment of estimated fees when the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed $100.

E. The Borough may charge actual fees for mailing.