Village of Westville, IL Chapter 112 Records Management

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Westville 3-9-2010 by Ord. No. 10-1399 (Ch. 15 of the 2015 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 112-1 FOIA Officers; records requests.

A. The Village Clerk was duly named as FOIA Officer for the Village of Westville by a majority vote at the January 12, 2010, regular meeting and is therefore hereby designated as the FOIA Officer to whom all initial requests for access to the records of the Village, except for Westville Police Department records, are to be referred. Such requests are to be made at the offices of the Village Clerk at Westville, Illinois, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 201 North State Street Westville, IL 61883, or by regular mail or by e-mail to [e-mail]. In the event that the Village Clerk is not available during the times and/or methods described above or due to illness or vacation, the Village Treasurer is designated as the Deputy FOIA Officer to whom such initial requests are to be made. Except in instances when records are furnished immediately, the FOIA Officer, or her designees, shall receive requests submitted to the Village under the Freedom of Information Act, ensure that the Village responds to requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses under the Act. The FOIA Officer shall develop a list of documents or categories of records that the Village shall immediately disclose upon request.

B. The Village of Westville Police Chief was duly named as FOIA Officer for the Westville Police Department by a majority vote at the January 12, 2010, regular meeting and is therefore hereby designated as the FOIA Officer to whom all initial requests for access to the records of the Police Department are to be referred. Such requests are to be made at the offices of the Westville Police Department at 200 Washington Street, Westville, Illinois, 61883 between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by regular mail or by e-mail to [e-mail]. In the event that the Village of Westville Police Chief is not available during the times described above or due to illness or vacation, the Police Captain is designated as the Deputy FOIA Officer to whom such initial requests are to be made. Except in instances when records are furnished immediately, the FOIA Officer, or his designees, shall receive requests submitted to the Westville Police Department under the Freedom of Information Act, ensure that the Police Department responds to requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses under the Act. The FOIA Officer for the Police Department shall develop a list of documents or categories of records that the Police Department shall immediately disclose upon request.

§ 112-2 Record of requests.

Upon receiving a request for a public record, the FOIA Officers shall:

A. Note the date the written request is received;

B. Compute the day on which the period for response will expire and make a notation of that date on the written request;

C. Maintain an electronic or paper copy of a written request, including all documents submitted with the request, until the request has been complied with or denied; and

D. Create a file for the retention of the original request, a copy of the response, a record of written communications with the requester, and a copy of other communications.

§ 112-3 Training.

The FOIA Officers and Deputy FOIA Officers shall, within six months after January 1, 2010, successfully complete an electronic training curriculum to be developed by the Public Access Counselor of the State of Illinois and thereafter successfully complete an annual training program. Whenever a new Freedom of Information Officer is designated by the Village, that person shall successfully complete the electronic training curriculum within 30 days after assuming the position.

§ 112-4 Retrieval of records.

Any records which are the subject of a request under the Freedom of Information Act shall be retrieved from such place as they are stored, by the FOIA Officer, or by an employee of the Village acting under the direction of the FOIA Officer. In no event shall records be retrieved by the party requesting them or by any person who is not employed by the Village.

§ 112-5 Fees for copies.

If copies of records are requested, the fees for such copies, whether certified or not, shall be as determined from time to time by the FOIA Officer pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/6). The Village Clerk shall maintain a written schedule of current fees in the Clerk's office. The fees so charged shall reflect the actual cost of copying the records, and the cost of certifying copies, if certification is requested.

§ 112-6 Denial of request.

In the event that a request to inspect Village records is denied by the FOIA Officer, the denial may be appealed to the Public Access Counselor of the State of Illinois.

§ 112-7 Documents to be prepared by Clerk.

The Village Clerk shall prepare A) a Village Information Directory; B) a block diagram of the functional subdivisions of the Village; C) a Village Records Directory; and D) a Records Catalog, all of which shall be substantially in the same form as the document attached hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibits A, B, C, and D.[1] This information shall also be posted on the Village's website.

[1] Editor's Note: The documents are available in the Village offices.