[Ord. No. 2008-03 §1, 1-14-2008]
The City Clerk is hereby designated as the "custodian of records"
for the City of Chillicothe. Such designation does not mean that the
City Clerk will necessarily have all the records in his/her possession,
but simply is an indication to whom requests for copies of records
and information regarding the City Government shall be directed. Requests
for records made to persons other than the City Clerk shall not be
considered to be requests that are made pursuant to the Missouri Sunshine
Law, Chapter 610, RSMo. Nonetheless, any official or employee of the
City who receives a request is directed to inform the City Clerk of
the request in a timely fashion, so that a response may be made to
the request.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §2, 1-14-2008]
All requests for records, notices or information shall be in
writing and shall be accompanied by a deposit of the estimated cost
of reproducing the requested information. Oral requests, if received
by the City Clerk, shall be immediately recorded in written form to
document the same. Any request received by the City Clerk shall be
initialed by the Clerk with the date and time of receipt noted.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §3, 1-14-2008]
The requesting party shall indicate on the request the manner
in which a response is desired. In absence of instructions to the
contrary, it will be assumed that the requesting party wants to receive
a response in the same form as the original request. (Example, if
someone stops by City Hall and requests copies of documents, it will
be assumed that the requesting party will stop by City Hall later
to pick up the documents. But if someone mails a request to the City
Hall, it will be assumed that a mailed response is desired.)
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §4, 1-14-2008]
The custodian of records shall respond to the request within
three (3) business days of its receipt. A "business day" is a day when the City Hall is open for the conduct of City business
during its normal business hours. While it is desirable that the entire
transaction be completed within three (3) business days, there may
be circumstances where clarification or explanation of the request
is necessary, or where it may be necessary to provide only part of
the requested information while searches are made to find copies of
other documents requested. If a request for access is denied, the
City Clerk shall provide, on request, a written statement of the grounds
of such denial which will cite the specific provision of the law under
which access is denied and will be furnished to the requester within
three (3) business days from the date the request for the statement
is received.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §5, 1-14-2008]
A.
The custodian
of records shall document the response provided either by:
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §6, 1-14-2008]
A request for copies of "all documents" or "every document"
of a particular sort involves a request to search through every record
of the City in order for the City to certify that it has provided
"all" or "every" document. Such searches are expensive. Similarly,
a request for records compiled in a format differing from the format
in which the records are customarily retained is a request for a search
and compilation and can be expensive. As a general rule, the custodian
of records is not expected to engage in extensive searches or compilations.
Any search request that will require more than fifteen (15) minutes
of the custodian's time will be refused without a substantial advance
deposit for the estimated time required to search for the records.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §7, 1-14-2008]
A.
Fees
for search, retrieval, accompanying and returning to their proper
storage all City documents shall be:
B.
Fees
for copies of documents shall be:
1.
For
copies than can be made on the City's copy machine or other equipment
available at the City Hall — ten cents ($.10) per side of a
page plus an hourly fee for duplicating time equal to the then average
hourly rate of pay for the clerical staff of the City.
2.
For
copies that must be made elsewhere — the actual charges imposed
for making the copies (including any taxes imposed) as well as the
fee provided above for search, retrieval, accompanying and returning
to proper storage.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §8, 1-14-2008]
To reduce the cost to both the requesting party and the City, the custodian of records may permit a physical inspection of the records by the requesting party to help specify what documents are needed. The custodian may impose such security as is deemed appropriate to guarantee that no record is removed from the City files. The requesting party shall pay the cost of that security at the rate provided in Section 115.150(A)(2).
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §9, 1-14-2008]
The custodian of records is empowered to waive the collection of any of the fees totaling less than one dollar ($1.00) provided in Section 115.150 above to any citizen of the City requesting documents from the City or to any representative of news media that routinely sends a reporter to cover meetings of the City Council. No person or organization shall receive more than three (3) such waivers in any twelve (12) month period.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §10, 1-14-2008]
All records of the City which are permitted to be closed records
by reason of the Missouri Sunshine Law, Chapter 610, RSMo., or by
any other Statute of Missouri or by any Statute or regulation of the
United States Government shall be maintained as closed records. No
such closed record shall be released to any person who is not a part
of the City Government, except that the City's Auditor may see such
records as are reasonably necessary to prepare an audit report as
requested by the City and the City's Attorney may see such records
as are reasonably necessary to represent the City. Requests that closed
records be opened to public inspection will be considered on a case-by-case
basis by the City Council.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §11, 1-14-2008]
No subpoena for a closed record shall be honored. All such subpoenas
shall be referred to the City Attorney for a response and for a motion
to quash the subpoena. The only exception to this requirement that
will be recognized is a subpoena from a grand jury.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §12, 1-14-2008]
The custodian of records shall establish a fixed place where
all public notices and agenda will be posted. This notice board should
be in a place that is accessible to members of the public at times
when the City Hall is open and, if possible, should be lighted and
available for public inspection even at times when the City Hall is
closed. This notice board shall have the notion "PUBLIC NOTICES" printed
in letters at least four (4) inches in height at the top of said board.
A window or glass door at the entrance to the City Hall may be used
as the notice board, provided such notices are placed in such a fashion
that they can be read by persons on the outside of the City Hall.
[Ord. No. 2008-03 §13, 1-14-2008]
Any person employed or working for the City or who has been
entrusted with a record that is marked to indicate that it is "confidential"
or a "closed record" or who has been invited to participate in a closed
meeting who nonetheless discloses any closed record or any information
about the contents of any closed meeting to any person shall be guilty
of an offense under the ordinances of the City and upon conviction
therefor may be punished as provided by law. Any such person who is
employed or working for the City may also be subject to the termination
of their employment as a result of such disclosure. Any such person
who is an elected official may also be subject to impeachment from
their office as a result of such disclosure.
