[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Spring Garden 6-14-2023 by Res. No. 2023-16. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The Spring Garden Township Board of Commissioners recognizes
the importance of public records as the record of the Township's
actions and the repository of information about this Township. The
public has the right to access and procure copies of public records,
with certain exceptions, subject to law, Board policy and administrative
regulations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt
or disbursement of funds or acquisition, use or disposal of services,
supplies, materials, equipment, or property; or the salary or other
payments or expenses paid to an officer or employee, including the
individual's name and title; and a financial audit report, excluding
the audit's underlying work papers.
A record, including a financial record, that is not protected
by a defined privilege or is not exempt from being disclosed under
one of the exemptions in Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law[1] or under other federal or state law or regulation, or
judicial decree or order.
Information, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
that documents a Township transaction or activity and is created,
received, or retained pursuant to law or in connection with a Township
transaction, business, or activity, including a document, paper, letter,
map, book, tape, photograph, film or sound recording, information
stored or maintained electronically, and a data-processed or image-processed
document.
A legal resident of the United States, or an agency, who
requests access to a record.
The Township's notice informing a requester of a granting
of access to a record or the Township's written notice to a requester
granting, denying, or partially granting and partially denying access
to a requested record.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.
The Board shall make the Township's public records available
for access and duplication to a requester, in accordance with law,
Board policy, and administrative regulations.
A.
The Township Manager shall designate an Open Records Officer, who
shall be responsible to:
(1)
Receive written requests for access to records submitted to the Township.
(2)
Review and respond to written requests in accordance with law, Board
policy and administrative regulations.
(3)
Direct requests to other appropriate individuals in the Township
or in another agency.
(4)
Track the Township's progress in responding to requests.
(5)
Issue interim and final responses to submitted requests.
(6)
Maintain a log of all record requests and their disposition.
(7)
Ensure Township staff members are trained to perform assigned job
functions relative to requests for access to records.
B.
Upon receiving a request for access to a record, the Open Records
Officer shall:
(1)
Note the date of receipt on the written request.
(2)
Compute and note on the written request the day on which the five-business-day
period for response will expire.
(3)
Maintain an electronic or paper copy of the written request, including
all documents submitted with the request, until the request has been
fulfilled.
(4)
Process the request according to law, policy, and administrative
guidelines. If the written request is denied, maintain the written
request for 30 days or, if an appeal is filed, until a final determination
is issued or the appeal is deemed denied.
A.
Requesters may access and procure copies of the public records of
the Township during the regular business hours of the administration
offices.
B.
A requester's right of access does not include the right to
remove a record from the control or supervision of the Open Records
Officer.
C.
The Township shall not limit the number of records requested.
D.
When responding to a request for access, the Township is not required
to create a record that does not exist nor to compile, maintain, format,
or organize a record in a manner which the Township does not currently
use.
E.
Information shall be made available to individuals with disabilities
in an appropriate format, upon request and with sufficient advance
notice.
F.
The Township shall post at the administration office and on the Township's
website, if the Township maintains a website, the following information:
(1)
Contact information for the Open Records Officer.
(2)
Contact information for the state's Office of Open Records or
other applicable appeals officer.
(3)
The form to be used to file a request, with a notation that the state
Office of Open Records form may also be used if the Township decides
to create its own form.
(4)
Board policy, administrative regulations, and procedures governing
requests for access to the Township's public records.
A.
A written request for access to a public record shall be submitted
on the required form(s) and addressed to the Open Records Officer.
B.
Written requests may be submitted to the Township in person, by mail,
to a designated facsimile machine, and to a designated email address.
D.
The Township shall not require an explanation of the reason for the
request or the intended use of the requested record, unless otherwise
required by law.
E.
Fees.
(1)
Except for the duplication fee established by the state, the Board
shall approve a list of reasonable fees relative to requests for public
records. The Township shall maintain a list of applicable fees as
permitted by law relative to requests for public records.
(2)
No fee may be imposed for review of a record to determine whether
the record is subject to access under law.
(3)
Prior to granting access, the Township may require prepayment of
estimated fees when the fees required to fulfill the request are expected
to exceed $100.
(4)
The Township Manager may waive duplication fees when the requester
duplicates the record or the Township Manager deems it is in the public
interest to do so.
F.
Response to request.
(1)
Township employees shall be directed to immediately forward requests
for access to public records to the Open Records Officer.
(2)
Upon receipt of a written request for access to a record, the Open
Records Officer shall determine if the requested record is a public
record and if the Township has possession, custody, or control of
that record.
(3)
The Open Records Officer shall respond as promptly as possible under
the existing circumstances, and the initial response time shall not
exceed five business days from the date the written request is received
by the Open Records Officer.
(4)
The initial response shall grant access to the requested record,
deny access to the requested record, partially grant and partially
deny access to the requested record, notify the requester of the need
for an extension of time to fully respond, or request more detail
from the requester to clearly identify the requested material.
(5)
If the Township fails to respond to a request within five business
days of receipt, the request for access shall be deemed denied.
G.
Extension of time.
(1)
If the Open Records Officer determines that an extension of time
is required to respond to a request, in accordance with the factors
stated in law, written notice shall be sent within five business days
of receipt of the request. The notice shall indicate that the request
for access is being reviewed, the reason that the review requires
an extension, a reasonable date when the response is expected, and
an estimate of applicable fees owed when the record becomes available.
(2)
Up to a thirty-day extension for one of the listed reasons does not
require the consent of the requester. If the response is not given
by the specified date, it shall be deemed denied on the day following
that date.
(3)
A requester may consent, in writing, to an extension that exceeds
30 days, in which case the request shall be deemed denied on the day
following the date specified in the notice if the Open Records Officer
has not provided a response by that date.
H.
Granting of request.
(1)
If the Open Records Officer determines that the request will be granted,
the response shall inform the requester that access is granted and
either include information on the regular business hours of the administration
office, provide electronic access, or state where the requester may
go to inspect the records or information electronically at a publicly
accessible site. The response shall include a copy of the fee schedule
in effect, a statement that prepayment of fees is required in a specified
amount if access to the records will cost in excess of $100, and the
medium in which the records will be provided.
(2)
A public record shall be provided to the requester in the medium
requested if it exists in that form; otherwise, it shall be provided
in its existing medium. However, the Township is not required to permit
use of its computers. If the requested information can be extracted
from Township software or databases, then the information shall be
extracted and any costs for extraction shall be charged to the requester.
(3)
The Open Records Officer may respond to a records request by notifying
the requester that the record is available through publicly accessible
electronic means or that the Township shall provide access to inspect
the record electronically. If the requester, within 30 days following
receipt of the Township's notice, submits a written request to
have the record converted to paper, the Township shall provide access
in printed form within five days of receipt of the request for conversion
to paper and all duplication fees shall be charged to the requester.
(4)
A public record that the Township does not possess but is possessed
by a third party with whom the Township has contracted to perform
a governmental function and which directly relates to that governmental
function shall be considered a public record of the Township unless
the contractor identifies the record as confidential or proprietary
when it is provided to the Township. When the Township contracts with
such a third party, the Township shall require the contractor to agree,
in writing, to comply with requests for such records and to provide
the Township with the requested record in a timely manner to allow
the Township to comply with law.
(5)
If the Open Records Officer determines that a public record contains
information both subject to and not subject to access, the Open Records
Officer shall grant access to the information subject to access and
deny access to the information not subject to access. The Open Records
Officer shall redact from the record the information that is not subject
to access. The Open Records Officer shall not deny access to a record
if information is able to be redacted.
(6)
If the Open Records Officer responds to a requester that a copy of
the requested record is available for delivery at the administration
office and the requester does not retrieve the record within 60 days
of the Township's response, the Township shall dispose of the
copy and retain any fees paid to date.
I.
Notification to third parties.
(1)
When the Township produces a record that is not a public record in
response to a request, the Open Records Officer shall notify any third
party that provided the record to the Township, the person that is
the subject of the record, and the requester.
(2)
The Open Records Officer shall notify a third party of a record request
if the requested record contains a trade secret or confidential proprietary
information, in accordance with law and administrative regulations.
(3)
The third party shall have five business days from receipt of notification
from the agency to provide input on the release of the record. The
agency shall deny the request for the record or release the record
within 10 business days of the provision of notice to the third party
and shall notify the third party of the decision.
J.
Denial of request.
(1)
If the Open Records Officer denies a request for access to a record,
whether in whole or in part, a written response shall be sent within
five business days of receipt of the request. The response denying
the request shall include the following:
(a)
Description of the record requested.
(b)
Specific reasons for denial, including a citation of supporting
legal authority.
(c)
Name, title, business address, business telephone number, and
signature of the Open Records Officer on whose authority the denial
is issued.
(d)
Date of the response.
(e)
Procedure for the requester to appeal a denial of access.
(2)
The Open Records Officer may deny a request for access to a record
if the requester has made repeated requests for that same record and
the repeated requests have placed an unreasonable burden on the Township.
(3)
The Open Records Officer may deny a request for access to a record
when timely access is not possible due to a disaster, or when access
may cause physical damage or irreparable harm to the record. To the
extent possible, a record's contents shall be made accessible
even when the record is physically unavailable.
(4)
Information that is not subject to access and is redacted from a
public record shall be deemed a denial.
(5)
If a written request for access to a record is denied or deemed denied,
the requester may file an appeal with the state's Office of Open
Records within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Open Records
Officer's response or deemed denial.
A.
Individuals seeking access to any audio or video recording made by
a law enforcement agency, including the Spring Garden Township Police
Department, shall submit a written request to the Township's
Open Records Officer.
B.
The request must be made within 60 days of the date the recording
was made.
C.
The request must include the following:
(1)
The date, time and location of the event recorded;
(2)
A statement describing the requester's relationship to the event
recorded; and
(3)
If the recorded incident took place inside a residence, the request
must also identify every person present at the time of the recording,
unless unknown and not reasonably ascertainable.
D.
Upon receipt of the request, the recording shall be saved and shall
not be overwritten, deleted or destroyed until the time period for
any appeal of the Township's response to the request expires.
E.
The Open Records Officer may deny the request, in writing, if it
is determined that the recording contains:
F.
The Township Board of Commissioners shall establish a reasonable
fee for the production of an audio or video recording in response
to a granted request.
G.
The Township shall have 30 days to respond to a request. Otherwise,
the request is deemed denied.
H.
If a request is denied, the requester may appeal, in writing, to
the Court of Common Pleas of York County in accordance with procedures
established by law.
A.
The requesting party, defined as a crime victim or a defendant in
a civil action in which the defendant is a party, may request production
of otherwise exempt criminal history investigative information if:
C.
Requests for criminal history investigative information must be made
to the Township Open Records Officer. The Township shall have 60 days
to respond to the request. Failure to respond shall result in a deemed
denial.
D.
The Township shall redact personally identifying information prior
to granting access to information, including a person's social
security number, driver's license number, financial information,
home or cellular phone number, email address, employee number or other
confidential personal identification information.
E.
The Township may deny the request if:
F.
A denied request may be appealed to the Court of Common Pleas of
York County in accordance with procedures established by law.
G.
This policy does not affect the Township's procedures for responding
to a lawful subpoena or request from an insurance carrier.
H.
The Township Board of Commissioners shall establish a reasonable
fee for responding to requests pursuant to this section.
