[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Seymour 4-9-2015 by Ord. No. 04-09-15. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town of Seymour recognizes and designates all of its records,
as defined by § 19.32(2), Wis. Stats., as public records
and documents subject to release, inspection and reproduction as required
by law.
A.
Custodians. The Town Board designates the following individuals as
the official legal custodians of the public records of the Town:
B.
Responsibility. It shall be the responsibility of the individual
as legal custodian to execute all duties and responsibilities of the
Town pursuant to the Wisconsin Public Records and Property Law.[1] In his/her absence, the alternate shall fulfill the duties
of legal custodian. As the official legal custodian of the records
of the Town, the individual in this position shall be responsible
to the Town for the timely response to any request for access to the
public records of the Town. The custodian shall be solely responsible
for the release of the public records, the conditions under which
records may be inspected, and the collection of costs for the location
or reproduction of said records.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
[1]
Editor's Note: See §§ 19.21 to 19.39, Wis.
Stats.
A.
Requests. All requests for the release, inspection and or reproduction
of public records of the Town shall be directed or referred to the
Town's official legal custodian of said records.
B.
Power. The official legal custodian is hereby vested with full legal
power to make all necessary decisions relative to the release, inspection
and reproduction of public records and is further granted all authority
necessary to carry out all duties and responsibilities required by
either the Wisconsin Public Records and Property Law (§§ 19.21
to 19.39, Wis. Stats.) or this chapter.
A.
Policy. Any public record of the Town of Seymour will be made available
for inspection by contacting the legal custodian and making an appointment.
No original records of the Town shall be removed from the possession
of the official legal custodian. The official legal custodian shall
be responsible for designating where, when and how the public records
of the Town may be inspected.
B.
Procedure.
(1)
After the receipt of any written or oral request for access to the
public records of the Town, the official legal custodian will attempt
to make such records available as soon thereafter as practical. In
any event, every request shall be responded to within five working
days.
(2)
If a request is denied, it will be denied in writing not later than
five working days after the request has been made. If a public record
cannot be made available within five working days, the official legal
custodian will inform the requestor when the record can be made available.
(3)
If the official custodian determines that portions of any records
requested contain information which should not be released, the custodian
will edit such records to remove the material not to be released and
thereafter release the balance of the document.
(4)
Any request for computer records of the Town will be referred by
the official legal custodian to the individual in charge of the equipment
to determine the cost of any computer search, printing charges and
possible time available on the machine. Since the computer time can
be expensive, computer information will not be provided until the
person requesting the information is informed of the estimated costs.
(5)
It is not necessary that any person requesting access to the records
of the Town identify himself or herself in order to obtain a record,
nor need any person requesting access to the records of the Town state
any reason for his or her request.
(6)
Any written requests for a record must reasonably describe the record
or information sought. If the official legal custodian cannot reasonably
determine what records or information are being requested, the request
shall be denied in writing and the reason for the denial shall be
stated in the written denial.
A.
Copies. Any person shall have not only the right to inspect the records
of the Town but also the right to receive a reproduction of such records.
In the event that a person files a written or oral request for reproduction
of any of the records of the Town that person shall be informed of
the costs of locating and reproducing such records. Fees shall be
charged relative to the costs of locating and producing any records
of the Town.
B.
Cost of locating documents.
(1)
Most of the Town of Seymour's records are readily available or can
be located in a relatively short period of time. There will be no
fee imposed upon any person who requests a record if the cost of locating
that record does not exceed $5.
(2)
Some of the records of the Town are in off-site storage, archived,
not online on the Town's computer, or otherwise not immediately available.
In those cases where a record is not readily available for whatever
reason and where it appears that the cost of locating a record will
exceed $10, the official legal custodian will seek the prior written
approval of the requestor before proceeding. In addition, the custodian
will endeavor, but will not be required, to provide an estimate of
the total anticipated cost for locating the record.
(3)
The legal custodian will determine the cost of locating the record
by using the hourly rate of $10 per hour for employees involved in
attempting to locate the record.
C.
Reproduction expenses.
(1)
Cost of making photocopies of records where equipment is available
shall be as set forth in the Town's fee schedule.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(2)
The actual cost to the Town of tapes and/or other medium used for
reproduction shall also be paid by the person making the request.
(3)
Cost of reproduction of records where equipment is not available
within the Town shall be as follows:
(a)
If equipment necessary for any reproduction is not available
within the Town, the Town will rent whatever equipment is necessary
to perform the function and will bill the requestor for such rental
fee. The charge will be the actual cost paid by the Town to the third
party vendor.
(b)
Items in such situation would include, but would not be limited
to, audiotape or videotape reproduction equipment, microfilm or microfiche
or ultrafiche reproduction equipment, and assorted computer hardware
and software.
(c)
The actual cost to the Town of the tape or other medium used
for reproduction shall also be paid by the person making the request.
D.
Disputes. The official legal custodian of the records of the Town
shall report any disputes which arise under the fee schedule to the
Town Board and shall recommend to the Town Board such modifications
and revisions as deemed necessary.
E.
Payment of fees.
Any costs or fees incurred by the official legal custodian of
the records of the Town shall be directly reimbursed by the Town to
the custodian and shall not be treated as the personal liability of
the custodian.
The records of the Town shall be retained and preserved by the
official legal custodian as required by all applicable laws, and no
records shall be destroyed without the prior written approval of the
custodian. No record of the Town shall be destroyed after the receipt
of the request for such record until after the request is granted,
or until any dispute concerning the request has been completely and
finally resolved.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
General Records Schedule adopted. The Town of Seymour hereby adopts,
by reference, the Wisconsin Municipal Records Schedule (hereinafter,
"Records Schedule"), pertaining to the retention and destruction of
public records, and approved by the State of Wisconsin Public Records
Board (hereinafter, "Records Board") on August 27, 2018. A copy of
the Records Schedule is kept on file at the Seymour Town Hall located
at N9296 State Rd 55, Seymour, Wisconsin. Records are made available
by appointment as the Town Clerk does not maintain regular office
hours.
B.
Other records. In the event the Town of Seymour creates a record
not contemplated by the Records Schedule, the Town of Seymour may,
subject to the Records Board's prior approval, either adopt an applicable
records retention schedule set forth by the Records Board, if available,
or create its own retention schedule pertaining to the record.
