A. Request To Inspect Or Copy; In General: A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian or to the village clerk-treasurer, who shall forward it to the legal custodian as soon as practicable. A request shall be deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested. However, a request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A request may be made orally, but a request must be in writing before an action to enforce the request is commenced under section 19.37, Wisconsin statutes. Except as provided below, no request may be refused because the request is received by mail, unless prepayment of a fee is required under subsection 1-8-4E of this chapter.
B. Custodian Response: Each custodian, upon request for any record, shall, as soon as practicable and without delay, either fill the request or notify the requester of the authority's determination to deny the request in whole or in part and the reasons therefor. If the legal custodian, after conferring with the village attorney, determines that a written request is so general as to be unduly time consuming, the party making the request may first be required to itemize his or her request in a manner which would permit reasonable compliance.
C. Denial Of Request: A request for a record may be denied as provided in section 1-8-6 of this chapter. If a request is made orally, the request may be denied orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons denying the request is made by the requester within five (5) business days of the oral denial. If a written request is denied in whole or in part, the requester shall receive a written statement of the reasons for denying the request. Every written denial of a request shall inform the requester that, if the request for the record was made in writing, then the determination is subject to review upon petition for a writ of mandamus under section 19.37(1), Wisconsin statutes, or upon application to the attorney general or a district attorney.
D. Request To Inspect And Copy; Records Regarding Employment Or Search Warrant: The procedure set forth in this subsection will apply to the following records: 1) a record containing information relating to an employee that is created or kept by the authority as the result of an investigation into a disciplinary matter involving the employee or possible employment related violation by the employee of a statute, ordinance, rule, regulation, or policy of the employee's employer; 2) a record obtained by the authority through a subpoena or search warrant; or 3) a record prepared by an employer other than an authority if that record contains information relating to an employee of that employer unless the employee authorizes the authority to provide access to that information.
1. Notice To Record Subject: If the authority decides to permit access to a record described in this subsection, the authority shall, before permitting access and within three (3) days after making the decision to permit access, serve written notice of that decision on any record subject to whom the record pertains, either by certified mail or personal service. The notice shall briefly describe the requested record and include a description of the rights of the record subject set forth in the following subsections.
2. Record Subject Response: Within five (5) days after receipt of a notice, a record subject may provide written notification to the authority of his/her intent to seek a court order restraining the authority from providing access to the requested record.
3. Action By Record Subject: Within ten (10) days after receipt of a notice, a record subject may commence an action seeking a court order to restrain the authority from providing access to the requested record. If such an action is commenced, the authority shall be named as a defendant. The record requester may intervene in the action as a matter of right. If the record requester does not intervene, the authority shall notify the requester of the results of the proceeding.
4. Time For Authority To Act: The authority shall not provide access to a requested record within twelve (12) days of sending a notice pertaining to that record under this section. If the record subject commences an action under this section, the authority shall not provide access to the requested record during the pendency of the action and until any appeal is decided, until the period for appealing or petitioning for review expires, until a petition for review is denied, or the authority receives written notice from the record subject that an appeal or petition will not be filed, whichever first occurs.
5. Exceptions: This subsection does not apply: a) to access to a record pertaining to an employee provided to the employee who is the subject of the record or to his or her representative to the extent required under section 103.13, Wisconsin statutes, or to a recognized or certified collective bargaining representative to the extent required to fulfill a duty to bargain or pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement under chapter 111, Wisconsin statutes; and b) to access to a record produced in relation to a function produced for equal rights, discrimination, or fair employment law compliance purposes under sections 106.54, 230.45, or chapter 111 of the Wisconsin statutes.
6. Officer Or Employee Right To Augment Record: If an authority decides to permit access to a record containing information relating to a record subject who is an officer or employee of the authority holding a local public office, the authority shall serve written notice of that decision on the record subject by certified mail or personal service before permitting access and within three (3) days after making the decision to permit access. The notice shall describe the requested record and include a description of the rights of the record subject as follows: Within five (5) days after receipt of the notice, a record subject may augment the record to be released with written comments and documentation selected by the record subject. In that event, the authority shall release the record as augmented by the record subject. (Ord. 2005-1, 2-21-2005)