[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.