[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
Tigerton 4-5-1988 as Title 2, Ch. 9, of the 1988 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any of the following Village entities having custody of a
Village record: an office, elected official, agency, board, commission,
committee, council, department or public body corporate and politic
created by constitution, law, ordinance, rule or order, or a formally
constituted subunit of the foregoing.
That officer, department head, division head or employee of the Village designated under § 146-3 or otherwise responsible by law to keep and preserve any Village records or file, deposit or keep such records in his or her office, or who is lawfully in possession or entitled to possession of such public records, and who is required by this chapter to respond to requests for access to such records.
Any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual
or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless
of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is
being kept by an authority. "Record" includes, but is not limited
to, handwritten, typed or printed pages, maps, charts, photographs,
films, recordings, tapes (including computer tapes), and computer
printouts and optical disks. "Record" does not include drafts, notes,
preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator's
personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person
for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the
personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or
her office; materials to which access is limited by copyright, patent
or bequest; and published materials in the possession of an authority
other than a public library which are available for sale or which
are available for inspection at a public library.
[Amended 9-5-2017]
The Village of Tigerton and its administrative subunits.
A.Â
Except as provided under § 146-7, each officer and employee of the Village shall safely keep and preserve all records received from his or her predecessor or other persons and required by law to be filed, deposited or kept in his or her office or which are in the lawful possession or control of the officer or employee or his or her deputies, or to the possession or control of which he or she or they may be lawfully entitled as such officers or employes.
B.Â
Upon the expiration of an officer's term of office or an employee's
term of employment, or whenever the office or position of employment
becomes vacant, each such officer or employee shall deliver to his
or her successor all records then in his or her custody, and the successor
shall receipt therefor to the officer or employee, who shall file
said receipt with the Village Clerk-Treasurer. If a vacancy occurs
before a successor is selected or qualifies, such records shall be
delivered to and receipted for by the Clerk-Treasurer on behalf of
the successor, to be delivered to such successor upon the latter's
receipt.
A.Â
Each elected official is the legal custodian of his or her records
and the records of his or her office, but the official may designate
an employee of his or her staff to act as the legal custodian.
B.Â
Unless otherwise provided in this subsection, the Clerk-Treasurer
or the Clerk-Treasurer's designee shall act as legal custodian
for the Village Board and for any committees, commissions, boards
or other authorities created by ordinance or resolution of the Village
Board. The following offices or authorities shall have as a legal
custodian of records the individuals so named:
Authority
|
Designated Legal Custodian
| |
---|---|---|
General records (including Board records and financial records)
|
Clerk-Treasurer
| |
Fire Department
|
Fire Chief
| |
Police Department
|
Chief of Police
|
D.Â
Each legal custodian shall name a person to act as legal custodian
in his or her absence or the absence of his or her designee, and each
legal custodian shall send notice of the designated deputy to the
Clerk-Treasurer.
A.Â
Except as provided in § 146-6, any person has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of any record as provided in § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
B.Â
Records will be available for inspection and copying during all regular
office hours.
C.Â
If regular office hours are not maintained at the location where
records are kept, the records will be available for inspection and
copying upon at least 48 hours' advance notice of intent to inspect
or copy.
D.Â
A requester shall be permitted to use facilities comparable to those
available to Village employees to inspect, copy or abstract a record.
E.Â
The legal custodian may require supervision during inspection or
may impose other reasonable restrictions on the manner of access to
an original record if the record is irreplaceable or easily damaged.
No original public records of the Village shall be removed from the
possession of the legal custodian.
F.Â
A requester shall be charged a fee to defray the cost of locating
and copying records, as follows:
(1)Â
The cost of photocopying, excluding accident reports, shall be as
set by the Village Board per page. Said cost has been calculated not
to exceed the actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction.
[Amended 9-5-2017]
(2)Â
If the form of a written record does not permit copying, the actual
and necessary cost of photographing and photographic processing shall
be charged.
(3)Â
The actual full cost of providing a copy of other records not in
printed form on paper, such as films, computer printouts and audiotapes
or videotapes, shall be charged.
(4)Â
If mailing or shipping is necessary, the actual cost thereof shall
also be charged.
(5)Â
There shall be no charge for locating a record unless the actual
cost therefor exceeds $50, in which case the actual cost shall be
determined by the legal custodian and billed to the requester. The
Village will determine the cost of locating a record by using an hourly
rate as determined by the Village Board per hour for employees involved
in attempting to locate the record.
[Amended 9-5-2017]
(6)Â
The legal custodian shall estimate the cost of all applicable fees
and may require a cash deposit adequate to assure payment if such
estimate exceeds $5.
(7)Â
Elected and appointed officials of the Village shall not be required
to pay for public records they may reasonably require for the proper
performance of their official duties.
(8)Â
The legal custodian may provide copies of a record without charge
or at a reduced charge where he or she determines that waiver or reduction
of the fee is in the public interest.
G.Â
Pursuant to § 19.34, Wis. Stats., and the guidelines therein listed, each authority shall adopt, prominently display and make available for inspection and copying at its offices, for the guidance of the public, a notice containing a description of its organization and the established times and places at which, the legal custodian from whom, and the methods whereby the public may obtain information and access to records in its custody, make requests for records, or obtain copies of records, and the costs thereof. Each authority shall also prominently display at its offices, for the guidance of the public, a copy of §§ 146-4 through 146-6 of this chapter. This subsection does not apply to members of the Village Board.
A.Â
A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian. A request shall be deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested. However, a request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A request may be made orally, but a request must be in writing before an action to enforce the request is commenced under § 19.37, Wis. Stats. Except as provided below, no request may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request. No request may be refused because the request is received by mail, unless prepayment of a fee is required under § 146-4F(6). A requester may be required to show acceptable identification whenever the requested record is kept at a private residence or whenever security reasons or federal law or regulations so require.
B.Â
Each custodian, upon request for any record, shall, as soon as practicable
and without delay, either fill the request or notify the requester
of the authority's determination to deny the request in whole
or in part and the reasons therefor. If the legal custodian, after
conferring with the Village Attorney, determines that a written request
is so general as to be unduly time-consuming, the party making the
request may first be required to itemize his or her request in a manner
which would permit reasonable compliance.
C.Â
A request for a record may be denied as provided in § 146-6. If a request is made orally, the request may be denied orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons for denying the request is made by the requester within five business days of the oral denial. If a written request is denied in whole or in part, the requester shall receive a written statement of the reasons for denying the request. Every written denial of a request shall inform the requester that, if the request for the record was made in writing, then the determination is subject to review upon petition for a writ of mandamus under § 19.37(1), Wis. Stats., or upon application to the Attorney General or a district attorney.
A.Â
As provided by § 19.36, Wis. Stats., the following records
are exempt from inspection under this chapter:
(1)Â
Records specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal
law or authorized to be exempted from disclosure by state law;
(2)Â
Any record relating to investigative information obtained for law
enforcement purposes if federal law or regulations require exemption
from disclosure or if exemption from disclosure is a condition to
receipt of aids by the state;
(3)Â
Computer programs, although the material used as input for a computer
program or the material produced as a product of the computer program
is subject to inspection; and
(4)Â
Pursuant to § 905.08, Wis. Stats., a record or any portion
of a record containing information qualifying as a trade secret as
defined in § 134.90(1)(c), Wis. Stats.
[Amended 9-5-2017]
B.Â
As provided by § 43.30, Wis. Stats., public library circulation
records are exempt from inspection under this section.
C.Â
In responding to a request for inspection or copying of a record
which is not specifically exempt from disclosure, the legal custodian,
after conferring with the Village Attorney, may deny the request,
in whole or part, only if he or she determines that the harm to the
public interest resulting from disclosure would outweigh the public
interest in full access to the request record. Examples of matters
for which disclosure may be refused include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(1)Â
Records obtained under official pledges of confidentiality which
were necessary and given in order to obtain the information contained
in them.
(2)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(a), Wis. Stats., records of current
deliberations after a quasi-judicial hearing.
(3)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(b) and (c), Wis. Stats., records
of current deliberations concerning employment, dismissal, promotion,
demotion, compensation, performance or discipline of any Village officer
or employee, or the investigation of charges against a Village officer
or employee, unless such officer or employee consents to such disclosure.
(4)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(d), Wis. Stats., records concerning
current strategy for crime detection or prevention.
(5)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(e), Wis. Stats., records of current
deliberations or negotiations on the purchase of Village property,
investing of Village funds, or other Village business whenever competitive
or bargaining reasons require nondisclosure.
(6)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(f), Wis. Stats., financial, medical,
social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons
which, if disclosed, would be likely to have a substantial adverse
effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such history
or data.
(7)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(g), Wis. Stats., communications
between legal counsel for the Village and any officer, agent or employee
of the Village, when advice is being rendered concerning strategy
with respect to current litigation in which the Village or any of
its officers, agents or employees is or is likely to become involved,
or communications which are privileged under § 905.03, Wis.
Stats.
(8)Â
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(h), Wis. Stats., requests for confidential
written advice from an ethics board and records of advice given by
such ethics board on such requests.
D.Â
If a record contains information that may be made public and information
that may not be made public, the custodian of the record shall provide
the information that may be made public and delete the information
that may not be made public from the record before release. The custodian
shall confer with the Village Attorney prior to releasing any such
record and shall follow the guidance of the Village Attorney when
separating out the exempt material. If in the judgment of the custodian
and the Village Attorney there is no feasible way to separate the
exempt material from the nonexempt material without unreasonably jeopardizing
nondisclosure of the exempt material, the entire record shall be withheld
from disclosure.
[Added 3-4-2019 by Ord.
No. 2019-01[1]]
A.Â
The Village hereby adopts the Wisconsin Municipal Records Schedule
approved and adopted on August 27, 2018, by the Wisconsin Public Records
Board and as from time to time amended by the Wisconsin Public Records
Board. A copy of the Wisconsin Municipal Records Schedule shall be
kept on file at the office of the Village Clerk of the Village of
Tigerton located at 221 Birch Street, Tigerton, Wisconsin 54486, and
available for public viewing.:
B.Â
In the event that the Village of Tigerton creates a record not contemplated
by the Wisconsin Municipal Records Schedule, the Village of Tigerton
may either adopt, subject to the Wisconsin Public Records Board’s
prior approval, an applicable records retention schedule set forth
by the Wisconsin Public Records Board, if available, or create its
own retention schedule pertaining to such record.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also repealed former §
146-7, Destruction of records, as amended.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 146-8, Preservation through
microfilm, was repealed 3-4-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-01.