Town of Lake Tomahawk, WI Chapter 105 Records

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Lake Tomahawk 5-11-1988 as §§ 1.20 to 1.22 of the 1988 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 105-1 Release of public records.

A. Definition of public records. The Board hereby adopts and incorporates by reference the definition of "record" as it appears in § 19.32(2), Wis. Stats.

B. Legal custodian. An elected official is the legal custodian of his records and the records of his own office, but the official may designate an employee of his staff to act as legal custodian. Further, any other person hired by the Town to collect and retain information, such as Town Assessor, is the legal custodian of his records.

C. Requests for records or property. All requests for the inspection, release or reproduction of public records of the Town shall be directed or referred to the respective custodian. The custodian is hereby vested by the Board with full authority to make all reasonable and necessary decisions relating to the inspection, release or reproduction of public records of the Town and is further granted all authority intended to be vested in him by the Wisconsin Public Records and Property Law (§ 19.31 et seq., Wis. Stats.)

D. Procedure for inspection, release or reproduction. The Town Board hereby adopts the following notice, as required by § 19.34, Wis. Stats., to be prominently displayed and made available at the Community Building for the guidance of the public in obtaining access to the public records or property:[1]

	PUBLIC RECORDS AND PROPERTY NOTICE
	Pursuant to law, this notice has been adopted by the Lake Tomahawk Town Board of Supervisors, an organization subject to the Wisconsin Public Records and Property Law.
	The Town Board has directed that this notice be placed in a prominent place at the Community Building, so that the same may be inspected by members of the general public.
		1.	The Town Board has designated each elected official and Town Assessor as legal custodian of his records. The names of the individuals presently holding these positions can be obtained at the following address:
				Lake Tomahawk Town Board Community Building 7246 Main Street Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin 54539 Telephone [phone]
		2.	Any public record of the Town, as defined by § 19.32, Wis. Stats., will be made available for inspection at the Town offices between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
		3.	No original public records of the Town shall be removed from the possession of the custodian.
		4.	The official procedure by which record inspection and/or reproduction shall be as follows: requested in writing to the custodian of records.
		5.	Fees shall be charged for the costs of reproducing and/or locating official records according to the fee schedule set forth in § 105-3 of the Code of the Town of Lake Tomahawk.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

E. Adoption of procedure and fee schedule. The Town Board hereby adopts the procedure set forth in § 105-2 and the official notice, as the proper procedure by which a request for records and property shall be made; the Town also hereby adopts the fee schedule in § 105-3 as the official fee schedule for the locating and reproduction of records or property of the Town.

F. Records preserved.

(1) The records of the Town shall be retained and preserved by the custodian, as required by the Wisconsin Public Records and Property Law or other applicable statutes; no such records shall be destroyed without the prior written approval of the Town Board.

(2) No official record of the Town shall be destroyed after receipt of a request for such record, until such request is granted, or until any dispute concerning the propriety of the request has been completely and finally determined.

G. Indemnification of custodian. Any costs or fees incurred by the custodian of the records in pursuit of his duties under this chapter shall be directly reimbursed by the Town to the custodian and shall not be treated as the personal liability of the custodian.

§ 105-2 Procedure for requesting inspection or reproduction of public records.

A. The custodian will not respond to oral requests for records of the Town, therefore, all requests for records or public property must be submitted in writing to the custodian. The requesting party need not disclose his identity or the purpose for which the records are sought.

B. Any request for a record must reasonably identify the record or information sought. If the custodian cannot reasonably determine the subject of the request, the request shall be denied in writing with the reason for such denial being stated.

C. After receipt of a written request for access to the records of the Town, the custodian shall attempt to make such records available as soon as is practical. In any event, every request shall either be granted or denied within five business days of its making.

D. If a public record cannot be made available within five working days, the custodian will inform the requesting party within that period when the record can be made available and shall produce it within a reasonable time.

E. If any records of the Town are requested which are necessary for the daily operation of the Town, the official custodian may arrange for the records to be inspected before or after regular business hours.

F. If the custodian determines that portions of any records requested contain information which should not be released, the custodian shall edit such records to delete such material and shall thereafter release the balance.

G. Any requests for computer records of the Town, if any, will be referred by the custodian to the person in charge of the equipment which will be used to produce the information, to determine the cost of any such computer search, printing charges and availability of computer search time. Computer information will not be provided until the person requesting the information is informed of the estimated actual costs of production and/or printing.

H. A person requesting the right to inspect records of the Town also has the right to receive a reproduction of such records. Any request for reproduction shall be filed with the request for inspection of the records. On receipt of a request for reproduction of records, the custodian shall inform the requesting party of the costs of locating and reproducing such records. Fees shall be charged by the custodian at or prior to delivery of the reproductions, in the custodian's discretion, according to the schedule attached in § 105-3.

§ 105-3 Fees for locating or reproducing public documents.

A. Locating costs. Most of the Town's records are readily available or can be located in a reasonably short period of time. There will be no fee for locating documents where the costs of locating are less than $50. Where a record is not readily available for whatever reason and it appears to the custodian that the costs of locating such a record will exceed $50, the custodian will seek prior written consent of the requesting party before proceeding. The custodian will attempt, but is not required, to provide a rough estimate of the total anticipated costs for locating the record. The requesting party will be charged an hourly rate of $50 per hour for employees involved in attempting to locate a record.

[Amended 2-9-2022]

B. Reproduction expenses.

(1) The custodian shall charge $0.50 per page for each page of records which can be copied on a standard office copying machine.

(2) There will be no charge for clerical time in photocopying fewer than five pages.

(3) If more than five pages are to be copied, an hourly charge of $25 per hour shall be paid in advance by the requesting party on a quarter-hour basis for clerical help in making the copies.

(4) If reproduction of records involves the use of equipment not ordinarily available in the offices of the Town, the custodian shall charge the requesting party the actual cost to the Town of procuring copies of such records, including any costs for rental of equipment or purchase of film, tape or other recording media.

C. Disputes. The custodian shall report any disputes which arise under this fee schedule to the Town Board and shall recommend to the Board any modifications or revisions as the custodian believes are necessary.