[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
The City Clerk is hereby designated as the "Custodian of Records" for the City of Palmyra. Such designation does not mean that the City Clerk will necessarily have all of the records in his or her possession, but is an indication to whom requests for copies of records and information regarding the City of Palmyra 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 of the revised Missouri Statutes. However, any official or employee of the City of Palmyra 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. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
All requests for records, notices, or information shall be in writing, and shall be accompanied by a deposit of the estimated cost of re-producing 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 initiated by the Clerk, with the date and time of receipt noted.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
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.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
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. 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.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
The Custodian of Records shall document the response provided either by: (1) making an extra copy of the response and attaching it to the original request, (2) noting on the request what documents were provided, or (3) keeping a copy of any letter or note requesting additional information in order to process the request.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
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 "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 expensive 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. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
A. 
Fees for document search, retrieval, and returning to their proper storage shall be:
1. 
For a search of fifteen (15) minutes or less, no retrieval fee.
2. 
For a search, retrieval, and returning documents requiring more than fifteen (15) minutes, the fee shall be five dollars ($5.00) for each period of fifteen (15) minutes or less, including the first fifteen-minute period.
B. 
Fees for copies of documents shall be:
1. 
For copies that can be made on the City's copy machine or other equipment available at City Hall, ten cents ($0.10) per side of a page.
2. 
For copies that must be made elsewhere, the actual charges imposed or incurred for making or obtaining copies.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
To reduce the cost to both the requesting party and the City of Palmyra, the Custodian of Records may permit a physical inspection of the records by the requesting party to help specify and select what documents are needed. The custodian may impose such security measures 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 135.070 above.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
The Custodian of Records is empowered to waive the collection of any fees provided in Section 135.070 above to any person, firm or corporation requesting documents from the City of Palmyra, or to any representative of news media that routinely sends a reporter to cover meetings of the City Council.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016; Ord. No. 1263-22-16, 11-17-2022]
All records of the City which are permitted to be closed records by reason of the Sunshine Law, 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 records shall be released to any person who is not part of the City Government, except as such release may be specifically provided for in Chapter 610, RSMo., the Missouri Sunshine Law, and also except that the City's auditor may see such records as are reasonably necessary to prepare an audit report as requested by the City of Palmyra, and also except that the City Attorney may see such records as are reasonably necessary to represent the City of Palmyra. Requests that closed records be opened to public inspection will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the City Council, but records which are closed due to rights of confidentiality of employees or parties shall not be released.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
No subpoena for a closed record shall be honored. All subpoenas for a closed record shall be referred to the City Attorney for a response, and a motion to quash the subpoena if applicable. The only exception to this requirement that will be recognized is a subpoena from a grand jury.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
The Custodian of Records shall establish a fixed place for all public notices and agenda to be posted. This notice board shall 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. The notice board shall have the designation of "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 City Hall may be used as the notice board, provided that such notices are placed in such a fashion that they can be read by persons on the outside of City Hall.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
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 none the less 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.
[Ord. No. 1186-16-12, 12-15-2016]
The policy adopted herein regarding the Sunshine Law shall supersede any previous policy adopted by resolution or by ordinance regarding the Sunshine Law.