[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Trenton 11-7-1989 as Title 2, Ch. 9 of the 1989 Code. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
Terms used in this chapter are defined as follows:
Any of the following Town entities having custody of a Town
record: an office, elected official, agency, board, commission, committee,
council, department 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 Town designated under § 115-3 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.
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 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.[1]
The Town of Trenton, Washington County, Wisconsin, and its
administrative subunits.
[Amended 10-19-2021 by Ord. No. 2021.10.01]
A.
The Town of Trenton hereby adopts the Wisconsin Municipal Records
Schedule, as approved by the Public Records Board on August 27, 2018,
and is incorporated herein by reference.
B.
Notification to Wisconsin State Historical Society. When a record
has met the terms of the retention period, the record may be destroyed
by the legal custodian of the record, provided the custodian has complied
with the notification requirement set forth in § 19.21(4),
Wis. Stats., to the Wisconsin State Historical Society.
C.
Conflict. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this section and any applicable state statute, the applicable state statute shall control. Any conflict between this section and any prior ordinance relating to the retention and/or destruction of public records is hereby superseded by this § 115-2.
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 Town Clerk
or his designee shall act as legal custodian for all Town records,
the Town Board and for any committees, commissions, boards or other
authorities created by ordinance or resolution of the Town Board,
except that the Town Treasurer shall be the legal custodian for all
records in his possession. In the event that the Town Clerk is not
available, then the Town Clerk shall designate someone to act on his
behalf as legal custodian.
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.
E.
The legal custodian shall have full legal power to
render decisions and to carry out the duties of an authority under
Subchapter II of Ch. 19, Wis. Stats., and this chapter. The designation
of a legal custodian does not affect the powers and duties of an authority
under this section.
A.
Except as provided in § 115-6, 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 Town 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. No original public records of the Town shall be removed
from the possession of the legal custodian.
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 set forth in
the schedule of deposits, bonds and fees. Said cost will be calculated
not to exceed the actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction.[1]
(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 determined by the legal custodian and billed to the requester.
The Town will determine the cost of locating a record by using the
hourly rate as set by the Town Board for employees involved in attempting
to locate the record.[2]
(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 Town 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 §§ 115-4 through 115-6 of this chapter. This subsection does not apply to members of the Town Board.
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 § 115-4F(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 Town 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 § 115-6. If a request is made orally, the request may be denied orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons for 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; and
(4)
Pursuant to § 905.08, Wis. Stats., a record
or any portion of a record containing information qualifying as a
common law trade secret. Trade secrets are defined as unpatented,
secret, commercially valuable plans, appliances, formulas, or processes
which are used for making, preparing, compounding, treating or processing
articles, materials or information, which are obtained from a person
and which are generally recognized as confidential.
B.
As provided by § 43.30, Wis. Stats., public
library circulation records are exempt from inspection under this
section.
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 Town 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 request record. Examples
of matters 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)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(a), Wis. Stats.,
records of current deliberations after a quasi-judicial hearing.
(3)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(b) and (c), Wis.
Stats., records of current deliberations concerning employment, dismissal,
promotion, demotion, compensation, performance or discipline of any
Town officer or employee, or the investigation of charges against
a Town officer or employee, unless such officer or employee consents
to such disclosure.
(4)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(d), Wis. Stats.,
records concerning current strategy for crime detection or prevention.
(5)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(e), Wis. Stats.,
records of current deliberations or negotiations on the purchase of
Town property, investing of Town funds or other Town business whenever
competitive or bargaining reasons require nondisclosure.
(6)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(f), Wis. Stats.,
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)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(g), Wis. Stats.,
communications between legal counsel for the Town and any officer,
agent or employee of the Town, when advice is being rendered concerning
strategy with respect to current litigation in which the Town 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.
(8)
Pursuant to § 19.85(1)(h), Wis. Stats.,
requests for confidential written advice from an ethics board and
records of advice given by such ethics board on such requests.
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 Town Attorney
prior to releasing any such record and shall follow the guidance of
the Town Attorney when separating out the exempt material. If, in
the judgment of the custodian and the Town 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 115-7, Destruction of records,
as amended, was repealed 10-19-2021 by Ord. No. 2021.10.01.
Any Town officer or the director of any department or division of 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 §§ 115-4 through 115-6 of this chapter.
