[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of East Lampeter as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-5-2024 by Res. No. 2024-14]
The purpose of this article is to assure compliance with the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law,[1] to provide access to public records of East Lampeter Township, to preserve the integrity of Township records and to minimize the financial impact to the residents of the Township regarding the resources utilized in the receipt and processing of public record requests and the retrieval and copying of public records.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.
The Board of Supervisors hereby designates the Township Manager as the Open Records Officer for East Lampeter Township. The Open Records Officer may, from time to time, appoint one or more deputies to serve in his or her place and stead in the event of illness, vacation or other absences.
The Township Manager may be reached at:
2250 Old Philadelphia Pike. Lancaster, PA 17602
717-393-1567 (phone)
717-393-4609 (FAX)
www.eastlampetertownship.org
Requests for public records shall be made in writing on a form provided by the Township and shall be submitted to the Township Open Records Officer during established business hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm with the exception of weekends and Township-designated holidays. Requests submitted outside of these times will be considered to have been received on the next Township business day. Requests submitted on the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records Standard Right-to-Know Request form will also be accepted. Anonymous or verbal requests will not be considered.
All documents deemed public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the Township office during established business hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm with the exception of weekends and Township-designated holidays.
Fees for public record duplication shall be as follows:
A. 
Office of Open Records Official Fee Schedule in effect as of the date of the request (see attached).[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said fee schedule is on file in the Township offices. See also Ch. A395, Fee Schedule, Art. VI.
B. 
The Township shall require prepayment of fees, prior to duplication, if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.
C. 
Duplicated public records shall not be released to the requester until all fees for duplication have been paid to the Township.
The Open Records Officer shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible and within the Right to Know Law's five-business-day timeframe. If the Open Records Officer cannot do so within five business days, he/she is permitted to exercise a 30-day extension upon notifying the requester. The Open Records Officer shall cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original Township documents while taking reasonable measures to protect original documents from the possibility of theft, damage, and/or modification.
If the request is denied, the Open Records Officer will send the requester a letter stating:
A. 
A description of the record requested;
B. 
The specific reasons for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal authority;
C. 
Contact information for the Open Records Officer;
D. 
The date of the response; and
E. 
The procedure to appeal the denial.
A. 
If a written request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal in writing to Executive Director, Officer of Open Records, 333 Market St., 16th floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101.
B. 
Appeals of criminal records shall be made to the District Attorney of Lancaster County, Lancaster County Courthouse, 50 North Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17608. (717) 299-8100.
C. 
All appeals must be filed with the appropriate agency within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township's response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial. The appeal shall state the grounds upon which the requester asserts the record(s) is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the Township for delaying response to or denying the request. Visit the Office of Open Records web site at www.openrecords.pa.gov for additional information on filing an appeal.