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For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings ascribed to them respectively.
CITY. The city government of this city.
COMMERCIAL PURPOSE. The direct or indirect use of any part of a public record or records, in any form, for sale, resale, solicitation, rent or lease of a service, or any use by which the user expects a profit either through commission, salary or fee. COMMERCIAL PURPOSE shall not include:
(1) Publication or related use of a public record by a newspaper or periodical;
(2) Use of a public record by a radio or television station in its news or other informational programs; or
(3) Use of a public record in the preparation for prosecution or defense of litigation, or claims settlement by the parties to the action, or the attorneys representing the parties.
CUSTODIAN. The official custodian or any authorized person having personal custody and control of public records. The CUSTODIAN having personal custody of most of the public records of this city is the City Clerk.
MECHANICAL PROCESSING. Any operation or other procedure which is transacted on a machine, and which may include, but is not limited to a copier, computer, recorder or tape processor or other automated device.
MEDIA. The physical material in or on which records may be stored or represented, and which may include, but is not limited to paper, microform, disks, diskettes, optical disks, magnetic tapes and cards.
OFFICIAL CUSTODIAN. The chief administrative officer or any other officer or employee of a public agency who is responsible for the maintenance, care and keeping of public records, regardless of whether such records are in his or her actual personal custody and control. The OFFICIAL CUSTODIAN of this city shall be the Mayor.
PERSON. A human being who makes a request for inspection of public records.
PRESCRIBED FEE or FEE. The fair payment required by the city for making copies of public records and for mailing public records, which shall not exceed the actual cost thereof and shall not include the cost of required staff time.
PUBLIC AGENCY. The city, including its legislative body and every officer, department and division of the city; every entity created by authority of the city; any board, commission, committee, subcommittee, ad hoc committee, advisory committee, council or agency created and controlled by the city; and any interagency body in which the city participates.
PUBLIC RECORDS. All books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, discs, diskettes, recordings, software or other documentation regardless of physical form or characteristics, which are prepared, owned, used, in the possession of or retained by the public agency. PUBLIC RECORDS shall not include any records owned or maintained by or for the public agency that are not related to functions, activities, programs or operations funded by the public agency nor any records that may be excluded by § 34.16.
REQUEST. An oral or written application by any person to inspect public records of the agency.
SOFTWARE. The program code which makes a computer system function, but does not include that portion of the program code which contains public records exempted from inspection as provided by KRS 61.878 or specific addresses of files, passwords, access codes, user identifications or any other mechanism for controlling the security or restricting access to public records in the public agency’s
computer system. SOFTWARE consists of the operating system, application programs, procedures, routines and subroutines such as translators and utility programs, but does not include that material which is prohibited from disclosure or copying by a license agreement between a public agency and an outside entity which supplied the material to the agency.
(KRS 61.870)
PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING PUBLIC RECORDS
(A) Any person desiring to inspect or copy the public records of the city shall make a request for inspection at the office of the City Clerk during regular office hours, except during legal holidays. The official custodian, or the custodian acting under the authority of the official custodian, may require a request to inspect public records to be in writing, signed by the applicant and with the applicant’s name printed legibly on the application. A written request to inspect public records may be presented by hand delivery, mail or via facsimile, if 1 is available.
(B) If the custodian determines that a person’s request is in compliance with this chapter and the open records law, and the requested public records are immediately available, the custodian shall deliver the records for inspection. A person may inspect public records at the designated office of the city during the regular office hours, or in appropriate cases, by receiving copies of the records through the mail.
(C) If the public records are to be inspected at the offices of the city, suitable facilities shall be made available in the office of the City Clerk or in another office of the city as determined by the official custodian or custodian for the inspection. No person shall remove original copies of public records from the offices of the city without the written permission of the official custodian of the record. When public records are inspected at the city offices, the person inspecting the records shall have the right to make abstracts and memoranda of the public records and to obtain copies of all written public records. When copies are requested, the custodian may require advance payment of the prescribed fee.
(D) Upon proper request, the city shall mail copies of the public records to a person whose residence or principal place of business is located outside of the county after the person precisely describes the public records which are readily available and after the person pays in advance the prescribed fee.
If the public record is in active use, in storage or not otherwise available, the official custodian shall immediately notify the applicant and shall designate a place, time and date for inspection or mailing of the public records, not to exceed 3 days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) from receipt of the application, unless a detailed explanation of the cause is given for further delay and the place, time and earliest date on which the public record will be available for inspection or duplication.
(KRS 61.872(5))
If the application places an unreasonable burden in producing public records, or if the custodian has reason to believe that repeated requests are intended to disrupt other essential functions of the public agency, the official custodian may refuse to permit inspection of the public records or mail copies thereof. However, refusal under this section must be sustained by clear and convincing evidence.
(KRS 61.872(6))
The official custodian, upon any request for records made under this chapter, shall determine within five days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) after the receipt of any request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the request within the five-day period of its decision. Any agency response denying, in whole or in part, inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exception authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exception applies to the record withheld. The response shall be issued by the official custodian or under his or her authority and shall constitute final agency action.
(KRS 61.880)
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