(a) When a requestor believes that all or a portion of a public record has not been disclosed or has been improperly exempted from disclosure, he or she may appeal to the City Council by filing an appeal of the denial with the office of the City Manager.
(b) The appeal must be in writing, specifically state the word “appeal” and identify the reason or reasons the requestor is seeking a reversal of the denial. The city’s FOIA appeal form (to appeal a denial of records) may be used.
(c) The City Council is not considered to have received a written appeal until the first regularly scheduled City Council meeting following submission of the written appeal.
(d) Within ten business days of receiving the appeal, the City Council will respond in writing by:
(1) Reversing the disclosure denial;
(2) Upholding the disclosure denial;
(3) Reverse the disclosure denial in part and uphold the disclosure denial in part; or
(4) Under unusual circumstances, issue a notice extending for not more than ten business days the period during which the City Council shall respond to the written appeal. The City Council shall not issue more than one notice of extension for a particular written appeal.
(e) If the City Council fails to respond to a written appeal, or if the City Council upholds all or a portion of the disclosure denial that is the subject of the written appeal, the requesting person may seek judicial review of the nondisclosure by commencing a civil action in Circuit Court.
(f) Whether or not a requestor submitted an appeal of a denial to the City Council, he or she may file a civil action in County Circuit Court within 180 days after the city’s final determination to deny the request.
(g) If a court determines that a public record is not exempt from disclosure, it shall order the city to cease withholding or to produce all or a portion of a public record wrongfully withheld, regardless of the location of the public record. Failure to comply with an order of the court may be punished as contempt of court.
(h) If a person asserting the right to inspect, copy or receive a copy of all or a portion of a public record prevails in such an action, the court shall award reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and disbursements. If the person or city prevails in part, the court may, in its discretion, award all or an appropriate portion of reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and disbursements.
(i) If the court determines that the city has arbitrarily and capriciously violated this Act by refusal or delay in disclosing or providing copies of a public record, the court shall order the city to pay a civil fine of $1,000, which shall be deposited into the General Fund of the State Treasury. The court shall award, in addition to any actual or compensatory damages, punitive damages in the amount of $1,000 to the person seeking the right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record. The damages shall not be assessed against an individual, but shall be assessed against the next succeeding public body that is not an individual and that kept or maintained the public record as part of its public function.