[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Franklin 8-5-1997 by Ord. No. 97-1461 as Sec. 3.08 of the
1997 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any of the following city entities having custody of a city
record: an officer, elected official, agency, board, commission, committee,
council, department, municipal court or public body corporate and
politic created by constitution, law, ordinance, rule or order; or
a formally constituted subunit of the foregoing.
That officer, department head, division head or employee of the city designated under § 72-3 or otherwise responsible by law to keep and preserve any city records or file, deposit or keep such records in his or her office, or is lawfully in possession or entitled to possession of such public records and who is required by this chapter to respond to requests for access to such records.
Any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual
or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless
of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is
being kept by an authority. Record includes, but is not limited to,
handwritten, typed or printed pages, maps, charts, photographs, films,
recordings, tapes (including computer tapes) and computer printouts.
Record does not include drafts, notes, preliminary computations and
like materials prepared for the originator's personal use or prepared
by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator
is working; materials which are purely the personal property of the
custodian and have no relation to his or her office; materials to
which access is limited by copyright, patent or bequest; and published
materials in the possession of an authority other than a public library
which are available for sale or which are available for inspection
at a public library.
A.
Except as provided under § 72-7, each officer and employee of the City shall safely keep and preserve all records received from his or her predecessor or other persons and required by law to be filed, deposited or kept in his or her office or which are in the lawful possession or control of the officer or employee or his or her deputies, or to the possession or control of which he or she or they may be lawfully entitled as such officers or employee.
B.
Upon the expiration of an officer's term of office
or an employee's term of employment, or whenever the office or position
of employment becomes vacant, each such officer or employee shall
deliver to his or her successor all records then in his or her custody,
and the successor shall receipt therefor to the officer or employee,
who shall file such receipt with the City Clerk. If a vacancy occurs
before a successor is selected or qualifies, such records shall be
delivered to and receipted for by the Clerk, on behalf of the successor,
to be delivered to such successor upon the latter's receipt.
A.
Each elected official is the legal custodian of his
or her records and the records of his or her office, but the official
may designate an employee of his or her staff to act as the legal
custodian.
B.
Unless otherwise prohibited by law, the City Clerk
or the Clerk's designee shall act as legal custodian for the City
Council and for any committees, commissions, boards or other authorities
created by ordinance or resolution of the City Council.
D.
Each legal custodian shall name a person to act as
legal custodian in his or her absence or the absence of his or her
designee.
A.
Except as provided in § 72-6, any person has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of any record as provided in § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
B.
Records will be available for inspection and copying
during all regular office hours.
C.
If regular office hours are not maintained at the
location where records are kept, the records will be available for
inspection and copying upon at least 48 hours' advance notice of intent
to inspect or copy.
D.
A requester shall be permitted to use facilities comparable
to those available to city employees to inspect, copy or abstract
a record.
E.
The legal custodian may require supervision during
inspection or may impose other reasonable restrictions on the manner
of access to an original record if the record is irreplaceable or
easily damaged.
F.
A requester shall be charged a fee to defray the cost
of locating and copying records as follows:
(1)
The cost of photocopying shall be as established by
Resolution No. 93-3956, as amended from time to time. Such cost has
been calculated not to exceed the actual, necessary and direct cost
of reproduction.
[Amended 12-15-1998 by Ord. No. 98-1526]
(2)
If the form of a written record does not permit copying,
the actual and necessary cost of photographing and photographic processing
shall be charged.
(3)
The actual full cost of providing a copy of other
records not in printed form on paper, such as films, computer printouts
and audiotapes or videotapes, shall be charged.
(4)
If mailing or shipping is necessary, the actual cost
thereof shall also be charged.
(5)
There shall be no charge for locating a record unless
the actual cost therefor exceeds $50, in which case the actual cost
shall be the hourly wage and fringe benefits rate of the lowest paid
employee capable of performing the task of locating the record multiplied
by the number of hours to the nearest 1/4 hour spent on the search.
[Amended 7-18-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-2551]
(6)
The legal custodian shall estimate the cost of all
applicable fees and may require a cash deposit adequate to assure
payment, if such estimate exceeds $5.
(7)
Elected and appointed officials of the city shall
not be required to pay for public records they may reasonably require
for the proper performance of their official duties.
(8)
The legal custodian may provide copies of a record
without charge or at a reduced charge where he or she determines that
waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest.
G.
Pursuant to § 19.34, Wis. Stats., and the
guidelines therein listed, each authority shall adopt, prominently
display and make available for inspection and copying at its offices,
for the guidance of the public, a notice containing a description
of its organization and the established times and places at which
the legal custodian from whom and the methods whereby the public may
obtain information and access to records in its custody, make requests
for records or obtain copies of records, and the costs thereof. Each
authority shall also prominently display at its offices, for the guidance
of the public, a copy of §§ 19.31 to 19.39, Wis. Stats.
and §§ 82-4 through 82-6 of this chapter. This subsection
does not apply to members of the City Council.
A.
A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian. A request shall be deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested. However, a request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A request may be made orally, but a request must be in writing before an action to enforce the request is commenced under § 19.37, Wis. Stats. Except as provided below, no request may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request. No request may be refused because the request is received by mail, unless prepayment of a fee is required under § 72-4F(6). A requester may be required to show acceptable identification whenever the requested record is kept at a private residence or whenever security reasons or federal law or regulations so require.
B.
Each custodian, upon request for any record, shall,
as soon as practicable and without delay, either fill the request
or notify the requester of the authority's determination to deny the
request in whole or in part and the reasons therefor. If the legal
custodian, after conferring with the City Attorney, determines that
a written request is so general as to be unduly time-consuming, the
party making the request may first be required to itemize his or her
request in a manner which would permit reasonable compliance.
C.
A request for a record may be denied as provided in
§ 82-6. If a request is made orally, the request may be
denied orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons
denying the request is made by the requester within five business
days of the oral denial. If a written request is denied in whole or
in part, the requester shall receive a written statement of the reasons
for denying the request. Every written denial of a request shall inform
the requester that, if the request for the record was made in writing,
then the determination is subject to review upon petition for a writ
of mandamus under § 19.37(1), Wis. Stats., or upon application
to the Attorney General or a district attorney.
A.
As provided by § 19.36, Wis. Stats., the
following records are exempt from inspection under this chapter:
(1)
Records specifically exempted from disclosure by state
or federal law or authorized to be exempted from disclosure by state
law.
(2)
Any record relating to investigative information obtained
for law enforcement purposes if federal law or regulations require
exemption from disclosure or if exemption from disclosure is a condition
to receipt of aids by the state.
(3)
Computer programs, although the material used as input
for a computer program or the material produced as a product of the
computer program is subject to inspection.
(4)
A record or any portion of a record containing information
qualifying as a common law trade secret.
B.
As provided by § 43.30, Wis. Stats., public
library circulation records are exempt from inspection under this
chapter.
C.
In responding to a request for inspection or copying
of a record which is not specifically exempt from disclosure, the
legal custodian, after conferring with the City Attorney, may deny
the request, in whole or in part, only if he or she determines that
the harm to the public interest resulting from disclosure would outweigh
the public interest in full access to the requested record. Examples
of matter for which disclosure may be refused include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(1)
Records obtained under official pledges of confidentiality
which were necessary and given in order to obtain the information
contained in them.
(2)
Records of current deliberations after a quasi-judicial
hearing.
(3)
Records of current deliberations concerning employment,
dismissal, promotion, demotion, compensation, performance or discipline
of any city officer or employee, or the investigation of charges against
a city officer or employee, unless such officer or employee consents
to such disclosure.
(4)
Records concerning current strategy for crime detection
or prevention.
(5)
Records of current deliberations or negotiations on
the purchase of city property, investing of city funds or other city
business whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require nondisclosure.
(6)
Financial, medical, social or personal histories or
disciplinary data of specific persons which, if disclosed, would be
likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of
any person referred to in such history or data.
(7)
Communications between legal counsel for the city
and any officer, agent or employee of the city, when advice is being
rendered concerning strategy with respect to current litigation in
which the city or any of its officers, agents or employees is or is
likely to become involved, or communications which are privileged
under § 905.03, Wis. Stats.
D.
If a record contains information that may be made
public and information that may not be made public, the custodian
of the record shall provide the information that may be made public
and delete the information that may not be made public from the record
before release. The custodian shall confer with the City Attorney
prior to releasing any such record and shall follow the guidance of
the City Attorney when separating out the exempt material. If in the
judgment of the custodian and the City Attorney there is no feasible
way to separate the exempt material from the nonexempt material without
unreasonably jeopardizing nondisclosure of the exempt material, the
entire record shall be withheld from disclosure.
E.
Whenever the Assessor, in the performance of his or
her duties, requests and obtains income and expense information pursuant
to s. 70.47(7)(af), Wis. Stats., or any successor statute thereto,
then, such income and expense information that is provided to the
Assessor shall be held by the Assessor on a confidential basis, except,
however, that said information may be revealed to and used by persons
in the discharge of duties imposed by law; in the discharge of duties
imposed by office, including, but not limited to, use by the Assessor
in performance of official duties of the Assessor's office and use
by the Board of Review in performance of its official duties; or pursuant
to order of a court. Income and expense information provided to the
Assessor pursuant to s. 70.47(7)(af), Wis. Stats., unless a court
determines that it is inaccurate, is not subject to the right of inspection
and copying under s. 19.35(1), Wis. Stats.
[Added 12-21-1999 by Ord. No. 99-1588]
A.
City officers may destroy the following nonutility
financial records of which they are the legal custodians and which
are considered obsolete, after completion of any required audit by
the Bureau of Municipal Audit or an auditor licensed under Ch. 442,
Wis. Stats., but not less than seven years after payment or receipt
of any sum involved in the particular transaction, unless a shorter
period has been fixed by the State Public Records Board pursuant to
§ 16.61(3)(e), Wis. Stats., and then after such shorter
period:
(1)
Bank statements, deposit books, slips and stubs.
(2)
Bonds and coupons after maturity.
(3)
Canceled checks, duplicates and check stubs.
(4)
License and permit applications, stubs and duplicates.
(5)
Official bonds.
(6)
Payrolls and other time and employment records of
personnel included under the Wisconsin Retirement Plan.
(7)
Receipt forms.
(8)
Special assessment records.
(9)
Vouchers, requisitions, purchase orders and all other
supporting documents pertaining thereto.
(10)
Vouchers and supporting documents pertaining to charges
not included in plant accounts of municipal utilities and the Sewer
Department.
(11)
Other municipal utility and Sewer Department records
with the written approval of the State Public Service Commission.
B.
City officers may destroy the following utility records
of which they are the legal custodians and which are considered obsolete
after completion of any required audit by the Bureau of Municipal
Audit or an auditor licensed under Ch. 442, Wis. Stats., subject to
State Public Service Commission regulations, but not less than seven
years after the record was effective, unless a shorter period has
been fixed by the State Public Records Board pursuant to § 16.61(3)(e),
Wis. Stats., and then after such a shorter period, except that water
stubs, receipts of current billings and customers' ledgers may be
destroyed after two years:
C.
City officers may destroy the following records of
which they are the legal custodian and which are considered obsolete,
but not less than seven years after the record was effective unless
another period has been set by statute, and then after such a period,
or unless a shorter period has been fixed by the State Public Records
Board pursuant to § 16.61(3)(e), Wis. Stats., and then after
such a shorter period:
(1)
Old insurance policies.
(2)
Election notices.
(3)
Canceled registration cards.
(4)
Assessment rolls and related records, including Board
of Review minutes.
(5)
Contracts and papers relating thereto.
(6)
Correspondence and communications.
(7)
Financial reports other than annual financial reports.
(8)
Oaths of office.
(9)
Reports of boards, commissions, committees and officials
duplicated in the Council minutes.
(10)
Voter record cards.
D.
Unless notice is waived by the State Historical Society,
at least 60 days' notice shall be given the State Historical Society
prior to the destruction of any record as provided by § 19.21(4)(a),
Wis. Stats.
E.
Any tape recordings of a governmental meeting of the
city may be destroyed, erased or reused no sooner than 90 days after
the minutes of the meeting have been approved and published, if the
purpose of the recording was to make minutes of the meeting.
Any city officer or the director of any department
or division of city government may, subject to the approval of the
City Council, keep and preserve public records in his or her possession
by means of microfilm or other photographic reproduction method. Such
records shall meet the standards for photographic reproduction set
forth in § 16.61(7)(a) and (b), Wis. Stats., and shall be
considered original records for all purposes. Such records shall be
preserved along with other files of the department or division and
shall be open to public inspection and copying according to the provisions
of state law and of §§ 82-4 through 82-6 of this chapter.
