[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 28, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Township of German shall make all public records as defined by the Pennsylvania Open Records Law accessible for inspection and duplication by a requestor in accordance with 65 P.S. § 66.1 et seq. A public record shall be provided to a requestor in the medium requested if the public record exists in that medium; otherwise, it shall be provided in the medium in which it exists, except for the provision in § 1-25B. Public records shall be available for access during the regular business hours of the Township. Nothing in this article shall provide for access to a record which is not a public record.
A.
All requests for public records shall be in writing
and shall be set forth on the Township Request Form, a sample of which
is attached hereto as Exhibit B[1] incorporated herein by reference. The form shall include,
among other things, the requestor's contact information, date received
and specific records requested. Requests may be submitted in person
or by mail or fax.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit B is included at the
end of this chapter.
B.
Requests must be specific enough for the Township
to determine what records are needed.
A.
General rule. Upon receipt of a written request for access to a record, the Township shall make a good faith effort to determine if the record requested is a public record and to respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at the time of the request, but shall not exceed five business days from the date the written request is received by the Township. Except as set forth in Subsection B below, if the Township fails to send the response within five business days of receipt of the written request for access, the written request for access shall be deemed denied.
B.
Exception.
(1)
Upon receipt of a written request for access, if the
Township determines that one of the following applies:
(a)
The request for access request requires redaction
of a public record.
(b)
The request for access requires the retrieval of a
record stored in a remote location.
(c)
A timely response to the request for access cannot
be accomplished due to bona fide and specific staffing limitations.
(d)
A legal review is necessary to determine whether the
record is a public record subject to access under 65 P.S. § 66.1
et seq.
(e)
The requestor has not complied with the Township's
policy regarding access to public records.
(f)
The requestor refuses to pay applicable fee set forth
in this article.
(2)
The Township shall send written notice to the requestor within five business days of the Township's receipt of the request notifying the requestor that the request for access is being reviewed, the reason for the review and a reasonable date that a response is expected to be provided. If the date that a response is expected to be provided is in excess of 30 days, following the five business days allowed under Subsection A above, the request for access shall be deemed denied.
C.
Denial. If the Township's response is a denial of
a written request for access, whether in whole or in part, a written
response shall be issued and include:
(1)
A description of the record requested.
(2)
The specific reasons for the denial, including a citation
of supporting legal authority. If the denial is the result of a determination
that the record requested is not a public record, the specific reasons
for the Township's determination that the record is not a public record
shall be included.
(3)
The typed or printed name, title, business address,
business telephone number and signature of the public official or
public employee on whose authority the denial is issued.
(4)
Date of the response.
(5)
The procedure to appeal the denial of access under
65 P.S. § 66.1 et seq.
If the Township determines that a public record contains information which is subject to access, as well as information which is not subject to access, the Township's response shall grant access to the information which is subject to access and deny access to the information which is not subject to access. If the information which is not subject to access is an integral part of the public record and cannot be separated, the Township shall redact from the public record the information which is not subject to access and the response shall grant access to the information which is subject to access. The Township may not deny access to the public record if the information which is not subject to public access is able to be redacted. Information which the Township redacts in accordance with this section shall be deemed a denial under § 1-17C of this article.
A.
Filing of exceptions. If a written request for access
is denied or deemed denied, the requestor may file exceptions with
the Township Manager/Secretary of the borough within 15 business days
of the mailing date of the Township's response or within 15 days of
a deemed denial. The exceptions shall state grounds upon which the
requestor asserts that the record is a public record and shall address
any grounds stated by the Township for delaying or denying the request.
B.
Determination. Unless the requestor agrees otherwise,
the Township Manager/Secretary of the borough or his/her designee,
shall make a final determination regarding the exceptions within 30
days of the mailing date of the exceptions. Prior to issuing the final
determination regarding the exceptions, the Township Manager/Secretary
or his/her designee may conduct a hearing. The determination shall
be the final order of the Township. If the Township Manager/Secretary
or his/her designee determines that the Township correctly denied
the request for access, the Township Manager/Secretary or his/her
designee shall provide a written explanation to the requestor of the
reason for the denial.
A.
Within 30 days of the denial by the Township pursuant to § 1-17C of this article, or of the mailing date of a final determination of the Township affirming the denial of access, a requestor may file a Petition for Review or other document as might be required by Rule of Court with the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, or bring an action in the local magisterial district. A requestor is entitled to a reasoned decision containing findings of fact and conclusions of law based upon the evidence as a whole which clearly and concisely states and explains the rationale for the decisions so that all can determine why and how a particular result was reached.
A.
The Township may charge the following fees for requests
made for access to public records:
(1)
Postage. Fees for postage shall be the actual cost
of mailing.
(2)
Copying. Fees for duplication by photocopying, printing
from electronic media or microfilm, copying onto electronic media,
transmission by facsimile or other electronic means and other means
of duplication shall be the same as the per copy fee set forth in
the Township's fee schedule, as amended, from time to time, by resolution
of the Board of Supervisors.
(3)
Certification. The fee for official certification
of copies, if an official certification is requested by the requestor
for the purpose of legally verifying the public record, shall be in
an amount as established, from time to time, by resolution of Board
of Supervisors.
C.
Prepayment. Prior to granting a request for access
in accordance with this article, the Township may require a requestor
to prepay an estimate of the fees authorized under this section if
the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed $100.
D.
Limitations. Except as otherwise provided by statute,
no other fees may be imposed unless the Township necessarily incurs
costs for complying with the request and such fees must be reasonable.
No fee may be imposed for the Township's review of a record to determine
whether the record is a public record subject to access in accordance
with 65 P.S. § 66.1 et seq.
The person at the Township to whom all record
requests should be addressed shall be:
|
Daniel Shimshock
Secretary/Treasurer
Township of German
2 Long Street
McClellandtown, PA 15458
(724) 737-5130
|
The regular business hours of the Township shall
be Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The individual at the Township who shall receive
and respond to exceptions filed when a record is denied and the requestor
disagrees with the denial shall be the Township Assistant Secretary.
A.
The Township shall not ask for or require a purpose
or motive for requesting a particular record and shall not limit the
number of public records that may be requested.
B.
If the record is only kept in electronic form, the
Township shall make it available in paper on request.
C.
The Township will not create a record that does not exist or put a document into a format that does not exist, except for Subsection B above.
D.
This article shall be posted prominently at the Township
municipal building.
