(A) Requests and disclosure of public records.
(1) Any person may inspect and copy the records of the county government during regular business hours of the government office, excepting only those records that are protected from disclosure under I.C. 5-14-3-4. A request for inspection or copying must:
(a) Identify with reasonable particularity the record being requested; and
(b) Be in writing, on a form provided for that purpose by the office of the Auditor of the county, which form shall be approved by the Board of Commissioners.
(2) A request made pursuant to this section must be particular and precisely identify, as best as possible, by description and date, the record being requested for inspection and reproduction.
(3) The County Auditor shall reproduce, with copying expenses prepaid, copies of any records requested for reproduction at the actual cost of copy per page, ad determined by the office of the Auditor. All copying must be done on the Auditor’s copying equipment.
(4) No duplication or obtaining duplicate copies of computer tapes, computer disks, microfilms or other similar or analogous record systems containing information entrusted to an office of the county will be allowed.
(5) The county government hereby adopts the definitions contained in I.C. 5-14-3-2 for purposes of implementing this policy.
(6) With regard to those public records that are requested to be copied, which comprise five pages or less, a request for reproduction of such document must be completed and delivered to the Auditor’s office prior to 10:00 a.m. on any business day. If so delivered in such timely fashion, the Auditor shall attempt to deliver a duplicated and copied request of said copy no later than 1:00 p.m. on the date of the request, unless additional time is needed for provision of said copy or other good causes shown for a delay of delivery.
(7) With regard to those records that are requested, either for inspection or for copying, that are comprised of five pages or more, the Auditor, upon location of such records shall deliver them to the person requesting them within such reasonable time as is necessary for location and identification of such records. As to copying requests of these, or other voluminous records, the Auditor shall deliver such duplicated copies, assuming the appropriate copying costs are prepaid, to the party requesting same within a reasonable time after request, location and duplicating procedures are completed.
(8) Effective with the date of passage of this section of the ordinance by the Board of Commissioners of the county, these procedures shall be the sole procedures by which persons, entities or other interested parties may obtain inspection and/or reproduction of official records of the county government. The time requirements of this section may only be altered or waived by an order of court or by an order of the Board of Commissioners.
(9) Each officeholder in the county government shall be entitled, at his or her option to implement the procedure for public access to records of their office that is set out herein. The policy and procedures set out herein apply, upon passage of this section, to the records of the Board of Commissioners of the county and the records of the County Council that comprise the official records of the county government, which are kept in the office of the Auditor.
(B) Bond issue and financial obligation records.
(1) The office of the Auditor shall, effective with the date of this section, hold and maintain all records of financial or other monetary obligations wherein the county is a party to such transactions. The records to be maintained by the Auditor include, but are not limited to, bond issue transaction closing statements, transcripts, trust indentures, records of payment for closing costs, official statements and correspondence to and from bond counsel with relation to each and every bond issue record that is kept by the Auditor.
(2) All building authorities, building associations, building corporations and other financing associations who have/do participate in long-term financing, bond-issue or other financing transactions wherein the county is a primary, secondary or other involved party or surety are hereby notified that they are required to deliver a full and complete set of all bond issue transcripts, closing statements, official statements, closing statement payment records, trust indentures and copies of correspondence and other records relating to the financial transaction wherein the county is a party, as is stated aforesaid. With regard to those bonding or financing entities in existence at the time this section is passed and the offices of all bond counsel who have been retained for bond issue projects wherein the county is a party, debtor, obliger or surety, said offices and entities are notified that they must comply with this section within 30 days of the date of passage hereof.
(Ord. 5-1989, passed 5-16-1989)