(A) Custodian of Records.
(1) Official custodian; Clerk-Treasurer serve as. The town’s Clerk-Treasurer is hereby appointed as official custodian for purposes of the state’s Open Records Act and is charged with responsibility for compliance with that act with respect to all public records kept and maintained in the Town Clerk-Treasurer’s office and all other public records not provided for elsewhere in this section.
(2) Additional record custodians.
(a) Designation. The official custodian appointed in division (A)(1) above is hereby authorized to designate any subordinate officers or employees to serve as record custodian. The record custodians shall have such duties and powers as are set out in the state’s Open Records Act.
(b) Register kept. Whenever the official custodian shall appoint another person as a record custodian, such designation shall be maintained in a register kept by the town’s Clerk-Treasurer.
(3) Duties of custodians. All town officials and employees appointed or designated under this section shall:
(a) Protect public records from damage and disorganization;
(b) Prevent excessive disruption of the essential functions of the town;
(c) Provide assistance and information upon request;
(d) Ensure efficient and timely action and response to all applications for inspection of public records; and
(e) Carry out the procedures adopted by the town for inspecting and copying open public records.
(Prior Code, § 1-8-1)
(B) Requests for records.
(1) All members of the public, in seeking access to, or copies of, a public record in accordance with the provisions of the state’s Open Records Act, shall address their requests to the custodian charged with responsibility for the maintenance of the record sought to be inspected or copied.
(2) Whenever any town official or employee appointed or designated as a custodian under this chapter is presented with a request for access to, or copy of, a public record, which record the custodian does not have in his or her possession and which he or she has not been given responsibility to keep and maintain, the custodian shall so advise the person requesting the record. The person making the request shall be informed as to which custodian the request should be addressed, if such is known by the custodian receiving the request.
(Prior Code, § 1-8-2)
(C) Procedures.
(1) Procedures regarding both inspection and copying of open public records. The following procedures regarding both inspection and copying of open public records are hereby adopted and shall be applied by the official custodian and record custodian:
(a) Consistent with the policy, duties and procedures established by the state’s Open Records Act, record custodians shall provide full access and assistance in a timely and efficient manner to persons who request access to open public records;
(b) Record custodians shall protect the integrity and organization of public records with respect to the manner in which such records are inspected and copied;
(c) Record custodians may prevent excessive disruptions of essential functions and provide the record at the earliest possible time;
(d) All inspections and copying of open public records shall be performed by or under the supervision of the record custodian responsible for such records;
(e) All persons requesting the inspection of or a copy of open public records shall make such request in writing prior to the request being honored; except that, no form shall be required for requests made for records which have been reproduced for free public distribution;
(f) All record inspection and copying forms are to be completed by the person requesting the record. The record custodian may demand reasonable identification of any person requesting a record;
(g) Any fees for record inspection or for copies are due at the time the records, or copies thereof, are provided to the requester, unless the record custodian has demanded that prepayment of all or part of such fees be made. Fees are to be paid to the record custodian or town’s Clerk-Treasurer;
(h) The record custodian or town’s Clerk-Treasurer shall demand full or partial prepayment of fees whenever the estimate for such fees exceeds the amount set out in division (D) below;
(i) No record search or copying fee shall be assessed against officers or employees of the town who make requests which are reasonably necessary to the performance of their official duties;
(j) Hours for making requests for inspection or copying shall be all regular working hours for each day the office maintains regular office hours;
(k) Removal of open public records from the office where kept and maintained, for purposes of inspection or the making of copies, shall not be permitted; and
(l) The above procedures, as well as any other inspection and copying procedures, shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the office of the record custodian.
(2) Procedures regarding inspection of open public records. The following procedures regarding inspection of open public records are hereby adopted and shall be applied by the official custodian and record custodian:
(a) Record custodians shall handle all inspection requests in accordance with their duties to protect and preserve public records and to assist persons requesting inspection of open public records;
(b) All request forms must be completed by the party requesting the record. In all cases, the party so requesting must sign his or her individual name to the form. Written requests shall be made on the form provided by the record custodian and presented to the record custodian;
(c) A written request is sufficient if it reasonably describes the record sought. In instances where the requester cannot provide sufficient information to identify a record, the custodian shall assist in making such identification; and
(d) The record custodian shall, upon making a denial of an inspection request, forward a copy of the denial to the town’s Clerk-Treasurer.
(3) Procedures regarding copies of open public records. The following procedures apply regarding copies of records:
(a) Record custodians shall handle all copy requests in accordance with their duties to protect and preserve public records and to assist persons requesting copies of open public records;
(b) All request forms must be completed by the party requesting the copies. In all cases, the party so requesting must sign his or her individual name to the form. Written requests shall be made on the form provided by the record custodian;
(c) Mechanical reproduction of a record shall not be undertaken when, it is the judgment, of the record custodian that any available means of mechanically reproducing the subject record is likely to cause damage to such records; and
(d) No copy fee shall be assessed when multiple copies of the record requested have been prepared for free public distribution, or when the record custodian determines that the cost of charging and handling the fee exceeds the cost of providing a copy without charge.
(Prior Code, § 1-8-3)
(D) Fees.
(1) Fees established.
(a) Inspections. Where a request has been made for the inspection of an open public record, no fee shall be charged.
(b) Copies.
1. A fee per page as set by the Board of Trustees by motion or resolution shall be charged for photocopying an open public record, such fee to cover the cost of labor, materials and equipment.
2. For copying any open public record which cannot be reproduced by photocopying, such as a computer printout or a blueprint, the requester shall be charged the actual cost to the town, including the cost of labor, materials and equipment.
(c) Search. A search fee shall be charged a requester who is using the record solely for a commercial purpose. Such fee shall be the actual cost to the town of producing the record, including the cost of labor, materials and equipment.
(2) Prepayment. A record custodian may demand prepayment of a fee whenever the estimated amount exceeds $20. The prepayment amount shall be an estimate of the cost of copying, mechanical reproduction or searching for the record. Any overage or underage in the prepayment amount shall be settled prior to producing the requested record or delivering the copy or mechanical reproduction of the record.
(Prior Code, § 1-8-4)
Statutory reference:
Open Records Act, see 51 O.S. §§ 24A.1 et seq.