Each request for public records should be evaluated for a response using the following guidelines.
(A) Although no specific language is required to make a request, the requester must at least identify the records requested with sufficient clarity to allow the village to identify, retrieve and review the records. If it is not clear what records are being sought, the records custodian must contact the requester for clarification and should assist the requester in revising the request by informing the requester of the manner in which the village keeps its records. Although the requester may designate the format that such documents are to be placed for inspection, the village is not required to put the requested documents into a format that is not within the ordinary scope of its normal record keeping function or normal capacity. Additionally, the village is not required to create records that otherwise did not exist, or to create, for example, a computer program simply in order to respond to a public records request.
(B) The requester does not have to put a records request in writing, and does not have to provide his or her identity or the intended use of the requested public record. It is this office’s general policy that this information is not to be required of the requester, and, indeed, the demand for this information is tantamount to a denial of the request.
(C) Public records are to be available for inspection during regular business hours, generally, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except holidays. Public records must be made available within a reasonable period of time, although there is no statutory definition of this time period. “Prompt” and “reasonable” take into account the volume of records requested, including the time and resources needed to make them available; the proximity of the location where the records are stored; and the necessity of any legal review of the records request.
(D) (1) Each request should be evaluated for an estimated length of time required to gather the records. Routine requests for records should be satisfied immediately if feasible to do so. Routine requests include, but are not limited to, meeting minutes (both in draft and final form), budgets, salary information, forms and applications, personnel rosters and the like. If fewer than 20 pages of copies are requested or if the records are readily available in electronic format that can be e-mailed or downloaded easily, these should be made as quickly as the equipment allows.
(2) All requests for public records must be either responded to or acknowledged in writing by the village within three business days following the village’s receipt of the request. If a request is deemed to be significantly beyond “routine”, such as seeking a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive research, the acknowledgement must include the following:
(a) An estimated number of business days it will take to satisfy the request;
(b) An estimated cost if copies are requested; and
(c) Any items within the request that may be exempt from disclosure.
(E) Any denial of public records requested must include an explanation, including legal authority. If portions of a record are public and portions are exempt, the exempt portions are to be redacted and the remainder released. If there are redactions, each redaction must be accompanied by a supporting explanation, including legal authority for its exclusion as a public record.
(Ord. 2468, passed 4-7-2011)