1. Township Response Time. The Township shall make a good faith effort to determine if the record requested is a public record and to respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at the time of the request but shall not exceed 5 business days from the date the written request is received by the Township Secretary. Township employees shall cooperate with those requesting to review and/or duplicate original Township documents while taking reasonable measures to protect Township documents from the possibility of theft and/or modification.
2. Exceptions to Response Time.
A. Upon receipt of a written request for access, if:
(1) The request for access requires redaction of a record in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.706;
(2) The Township Secretary determines that the request for access requires retrieval of a record stored in a remote location, or
(3) A timely response to the request cannot be accomplished due to specified staffing limitations, or
(4) A legal review is necessary to determine if the record is subject to access, or
(5) The requestor has not complied with the Township's policy regarding access to public records, or
(6) If the requestor refuses to pay applicable fees, a written notice shall be forwarded to the requestor within 5 business days of the Township Secretary's receipt of the request for access notifying the requestor that the request is being reviewed and that a response is expected to be provided within 35 days following the initial request.
(7) The extent or nature of the request precludes a response within the required time period.
B. Notice.
(1) Upon a determination that one of the factors listed in 2.A. applies, the open-records officer shall send written notice to the requester within 5 business days of receipt of the request for access under subsection 2.A.
(2) The notice shall include a statement notifying the requester that the request for access is being reviewed, the reason for the review, a reasonable date that a response is expected to be provided and an estimate of applicable fees owed when the record becomes available. If the date that a response is expected to be provided is in excess of 30 days, following the 5 business days allowed for in 65 P.S. § 67.901, the request for access shall be deemed denied unless the requester has agreed in writing to an extension to the date specified in the notice.
(3) If the requester agrees to the extension, the request shall be deemed denied on the day following the date specified in the notice if the agency has not provided a response by that date.
3. Deemed Denial. if the Township fails to send a response within 5 business days of receipt of a written request for access when none of the above exceptions apply, the request for access shall be deemed denied. Moreover, if the date that a response is expected to be provided is in excess of 30 days following the initial 5 business days allowed for response, the request for access shall also be deemed denied.
4. Written Denial. If the Township's response is a denial of a written request for access, whether in whole or in part, the Township shall issue a written response which shall include the following:
A. A description of the record requested.
B. The specific reasons for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal authority.
C. The name, title, business address, business telephone number and signature of the public official or public employee on whose authority the denial is issued.
D. Date of response.
E. The procedure to appeal the denial of access.
5. Available Format. The Township will not compile, maintain, format or organize a public record in any manner it does not already do so.
(Res. 06-2006, 7/10/2006, § 4)