(a) The purpose of this policy is to assure compliance with the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. § 66.1 et seq., as amended, to provide access to the public records of the Borough, to preserve the integrity of Borough records, and to minimize the financial impact to the residents of the Borough regarding the resources utilized in the receipt and processing of public record requests and the retrieval and copying of public records.
(b) It is the policy of the Borough to require the presence of a designated employee when public records are examined and inspected and to charge reasonable fees for duplication of public records of the Borough. The Borough has designated the Borough Manager as responsible for assuring compliance with the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, according to the following guidelines:
(1) The Borough may designate certain employee(s) to process public records requests.
(2) The Borough Manager shall be responsible for minimizing, where possible, the financial impact to the Borough regarding the resources utilized in the receipt and processing of public record requests and the retrieval and copying of public records.
(3) All requests for public records of the Borough under this policy shall be specific in identifying an describing each public record requested. In no case shall the Borough be required to create a public record which does not exist or to compile, maintain, format or organize a public record in a manner in which the Borough does not currently compile, maintain, format or organize the public record. All requests for public records shall be submitted in writing and on a form provided by the Borough, as shown below, entitled "Public Record Review/Duplication Request Form".
(4) The designated employee shall make the good faith effort to determine whether each record requested is a public record.
(5) The Borough shall facilitate a reasonable response to a request for Borough public records. In no case is the Borough expected to provide extraordinary staff to respond to a request, but will respond in a manner consistent with Borough administrative responsibilities and consistent with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law.
(6) The designated employee shall respond to the requester within five business days from the date of receipt of the written request. If the Borough does not respond within five business days of receipt thereof, the request is deemed denied.
(7) The response provided by the Borough shall consist of:
A. Approval for access to the public record;
B. Review of the request by the designated employee; or
C. Denial of access to the record requested.
(8) If access to the public record requested is approved, the public record shall be available for access during the regular business hours of the Borough. The designated employee shall cooperate fully with the requester, while also taking reasonable measures to protect the Borough public records from the possibility of theft and/or modification. The presence of a designated employee is required when public records are examined and inspected.
(9) Fees for duplication of public records shall be as follows:
A. Photocopying: Twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page;
B. Duplication of public electronic and/or tape records: Actual cost to the Borough of duplicating the public record;
C. Certified copies: One dollar ($1.00) per page; and
D. Postage: Actual cost to the Borough of mailing the public record.
The Borough may, in its discretion, waive fees.
(10) In the event the estimated cost of fulfilling a request submitted under this policy is expected to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00), the designated employee(s) shall obtain 50 percent of the expected cost in advance of fulfilling the request to avoid unwarranted expense of Borough resources.
(11) If the request is being reviewed, the notice provided by the Borough shall be in writing and include the reason for the review and the expected response date, which shall be within 30 days of the notice of review. If the Borough does not respond within 30 days thereof, the request is deemed denied. Review of the request is limited situations where:
A. The record requested contains information which is subject to access, as well as information which is not subject to access that must be redacted prior to a grant of access. The redacted information is considered a denial as to that information;
B. The record requires retrieval from a remote location;
C. A timely response is necessary to determined whether a record requested is a public record;
D. A legal review is necessary to determine whether a record requested is a public record;
E. The requester has failed to comply with the Borough's policy and procedure requirements; or
F. The requester refuses to pay the applicable fees.
(12) If access to the record requested is denied, the notice provided by the Borough shall be in writing as indicated on the form shown below entitled "Denial of Request to Review and/or Duplicate Borough Records".
(13) If the request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file exceptions with the Borough within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Borough's notice of denial, or within 15 days of a deemed denial. The exceptions must:
A. Indicate the date of the original request;
B. Identify and describe the record(s) requested;
C. State the grounds upon which the requester asserts the record(s) is a public record; and
D. Address any grounds stated by the Borough in its notice of denial.
(14) The Borough shall review the exceptions and may conduct a hearing to assist in making a final determination. A final determination will be made within 30 days of the mailing date of the exceptions, unless extended by the parties. If the denial is upheld, the decision shall contain a written explanation of the reason for denial and an explanation of the process for further appeal.
(15) This policy shall be on file in the Borough Manager's office.
BOROUGH OF ELLWOOD CITY
DOCUMENT REVIEW/DUPLICATION REQUEST
Please Print Legibly
Date of Request:________________
Requester's Name: _______________________________________
Requester's Address: _______________________________________
Requester's Phone: _______________________________________
I, ______________________________, request _________________________ review duplication (check applicable boxes) of the following records. Important: You must identify or describe the records with sufficient specificity to enable the Borough to determine which records are being requested. Use additional sheets if necessary.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I certify that I am a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
______________________________________
Signature of Requester
This request may be submitted in person, by mail or by facsimile to:
Borough of Ellwood City
c/o Borough Manager
525 Lawrence Avenue
Ellwood City, PA 16117
Phone: (724) 758-7777
Fax: (724) 758-3044
Assigned this ___________ day of _______________________, 20____.
Date Received: ________________________
Action Taken:
Approved Date of Approval: _______________________
Denied Date Notice Mailed: _______________________
Additional Review Date Notice Mailed: _______________________
BOROUGH OF ELLWOOD CITY
DENIAL OF REQUEST TO REVIEW AND/OR DUPLICATE
Date of Denial: ______________________________
Requester's Name: ______________________________
Requester's Address: ______________________________
______________________________
RE: Denial of Request to Review and/or Duplicate Borough Records
Date of Request: _________________________
Dear _________________________:
Please be advised that your request to review/duplicate the following records: ______
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
has been denied for the following reason(s):______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
This denial is based upon the following legal authority: ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
You have the right to appeal this decision. If you appeal, you must either:
1. Within fifteen (15) days of the notice of denial or deemed denial, file exceptions with the Borough in accordance with Borough policy.
If you file exceptions, the Borough has thirty (30) days in which to respond to your exceptions, unless extended by the parties. The Borough may decide to conduct a hearing within that time to assist in the making of the decision.
- OR -
2. Within thirty (30) days of the notice of denial, or within thirty (30) days of the Borough's final decision (in the event that you have filed exceptions), file a petition for review in the Lawrence/Beaver County Court of Common Pleas or bring an action in the local District Magistrate's Office.
Sincerely,
_____________________________
Borough Manager
(Res. 1998-3. Passed 1-19-98; Res. 2003-3. Passed 1-20-03.)