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Village of Salem Lakes, WI
Kenosha County
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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Salem Lakes as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
It is the declared policy of the Village of Salem Lakes to make available to the public all records that are not otherwise protected or exempt by law, of whatever nature, generated by the Village Board or an agency, commission, committee or department of the Village, whether created by the laws of the State of Wisconsin or by ordinance, rule or regulation.
As used in this article, the term "record" shall be as defined in § 19.32(2), Wis. Stats.
A. 
The legal custodian of all records, as defined in § 128-2, of any elected official, agency, board, commission, committee or department created by the Village Board shall be the Village Clerk, and in the absence of the Village Clerk, the Deputy Village Clerk shall act as legal custodian.
B. 
The legal custodian of records for the Salem Lakes Fire/Rescue Department shall be the chief officer of the Fire/Rescue Department, and said chief officer shall be the responsible person for compliance with Wisconsin Statutes and this article relating to public access to such records.
C. 
The Judge of the Municipal Court shall be the custodian of all records created within the Court.
The chair or designated clerk or secretary of any of the public or quasi-public bodies mentioned in § 128-3 shall serve as a temporary custodian of that public body or authority and shall be responsible for a prompt transmittal of minutes and records to the Village Clerk. The custodian of records for the Fire/Rescue Department and the Municipal Court shall make such records available to the Village Clerk upon the Clerk's oral or written request.
The Village Clerk shall provide notice to the public and post information in the Village Hall describing the records available from the Village Clerk as custodian of Village records and the times at which the public may obtain access to such records and a schedule of fees adopted by the Village Board as set forth in § 128-7. All records kept and maintained by the Village Clerk shall be available for public access at the Village Hall during the regular business hours. The custodians of records not kept and maintained by the Village Clerk shall advise the Clerk of the name of the legal custodian and the times and places where said records may be available. The custodians who do not maintain regular business hours shall permit access to such records on at least 48 hours' written or oral notice of a request to inspect or copy records, or in the alternative, such custodian other than the Village Clerk may establish a period of at least two consecutive hours per week during which access to records shall be permitted, and in that case, 24 hours' advance written or oral notice of an intent to inspect or copy a record shall be required. The Village Clerk shall post all such information regarding access to records not kept by the Village Clerk.
A person requesting access to records shall be permitted to use the facilities of the Village Hall to inspect and copy or abstract a record, always provided that the custodian may supervise any such inspection or copying of any such record but only for the care and protection of the record.
A. 
The custodian shall be entitled to charge a fee as shall be determined by the Village Board to defray the costs of reproduction of such record made by the Village or for locating such records, provided that reproduction costs shall not exceed the actual necessary and direct costs of reproduction and the charge for locating a record exceeds $50; in which case the Clerk shall determine said costs and collect the same from the person requesting the record. A request for records which is made by mail shall be honored by the custodian, and the direct charges of mailing or shipping may be charged to the person requesting the record.
B. 
The custodian shall estimate the cost of all the applicable fees and charges, and in the event that such fees and charges shall be in excess of $5, the custodian may require a reasonable cash deposit in an amount calculated by the custodian to be adequate to assure payment, provided that the estimate of such costs shall be in excess of $5. The custodian may provide copies of a record without charge or at a reduced charge to any municipality or public body requesting the same or whenever it is determined that such waiver or reduction of fee is in the public interest.
Except as otherwise provided in this article and §§ 19.36 and 19.85, Wis. Stats., all records as defined in § 128-2 of this article shall be available and the public shall have an absolute right to inspect and make or receive copies of the same, except the following:
A. 
The Clerk may deny a request for records whenever:
(1) 
It is determined that harm to public interest would result from an untimely disclosure.
(2) 
The records are obtained under an official pledge of confidentiality where such is necessary in order to obtain the information.
B. 
Deliberations after judicial or quasi-judicial hearings.
C. 
Records concerning employment, dismissal, promotion, compensation, performance or discipline of a Village employee or the investigation of charges against an officer or employee, unless the officer or employee consents to such disclosure.
D. 
Those records concerning crime detection or prevention or deliberations.
E. 
Negotiations on the purchase of property, investing funds or other business whenever a competitive or bargaining reason would require nondisclosure.
F. 
Financial, medical, social and personal histories and disciplinary data of specific persons which, if disclosed, would likely have a substantial adverse effect on the reputation of any person.
G. 
Communications between legal counsel for the Village and any officer, agent or employee where counsel's advice is being rendered concerning strategy as respect to litigation in which the Village or any of its officers, agents or employees are or are likely to become involved or such other communications as are privileged under § 905.03, Wis. Stats.
In the event that the custodian shall determine that a request for a public record or any part thereof should be denied, the custodian shall refer the matter to the Village Attorney, who shall render an opinion to the custodian in writing as to the legality of the custodian's determination.
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
The Village hereby adopts and incorporates herein the General Records Schedule for Wisconsin Municipal and Related Records approved by the Public Records Board on August 27, 2018.