[R.O. 1991 § 185.010; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
The City Clerk is hereby designated
as the "custodian of records" for the City of Vandalia. Such designation
does not mean that the City Clerk will necessarily have all the records
in his or 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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.020; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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
request, 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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.030; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.040; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.050; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.060; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.070; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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 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 for making the copies (including any taxes
imposed) as well as the fee provided above for search, retrieval,
accompanying, and returning to proper storage.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.080; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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 185.070(A)(2).
[R.O. 1991 § 185.090; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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 120.070 above to any citizen of the City requesting documents from the City, or to any representative of the news media that routinely sends a reporter to cover meetings of the Vandalia Board of Aldermen. No person or organization shall receive more than three (3) such waivers in any twelve-month period.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.100; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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 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's Board of Aldermen.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.110; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.120; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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 City Hall is open.
[R.O. 1991 § 185.130; Ord. No. 17-1179, 9-19-2017]
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.
