As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
AUTHORITY
Any of the following Town entities having custody of a Town record:
an office, elected official, agency, board, commission, committee, department
or public body corporate and politic created by constitution, law, ordinance,
rule or order, or a formally constituted subunit of the foregoing.
CUSTODIAN
That officer, department head, division head, or employee of the Town designated under §
70-3 or otherwise responsible by law to keep and preserve any Town records or file, deposit or keep such records in his or her office, or who 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.
RECORD
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),
computer printouts and optical disks. "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 the 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.
Any Town officer, or the director of any department or division of the Town government, may, subject to the approval of the Town Board, 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 §§
70-4 through
70-6 of this chapter.