(A) Purpose. The city maintains many records that are used in the administration and operation of the city. In accordance with state law, the city’s Records Commission has adopted a schedule of records retention and disposition that identify these records and this schedule is available in the Mayor’s office and in each department. This schedule lists generally the types of records that are stored on a fixed medium (paper, computer, film and the like) that are created, received or sent under the jurisdiction on of the city and document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations or other activities of the city. The records maintained by the city and the ability to access them are means to provide trust between the public and the city.
(B) Custodian of public records; when available. The Clerk of Council is the official Public Records Custodian of all records which are centrally maintained by the city. Department heads are the official custodians of all records maintained within their departments. Public records requests may be made directly to department heads or through the Public Records Custodian. Requests for records from the Police Department may be made directly to the Police Records Clerk. Public records requests will be accommodated during regular business hours when offices maintaining said records are open for business. Public records requests will not be accepted on weekends or holidays.
(C) General provisions.
(1) Public records.
(2) Missing Information.
(a) Missing Information.
(b) Missing Information. . . . receives a request for information to be made available in an electronic format, such request will be forwarded to the Public Records Custodian for a determination as to whether such information will be generated and released in an electronic format.
(c) Each request should be evaluated for an estimated length of time required to gather the records. Routine requests for records should be satisfied immediately if feasible to do so. Routine requests include, but are not limited to, meeting minutes (both in draft and final form), budgets, salary information, forms and applications, personnel rosters and the like. If fewer than 20 pages of copies are requested or if the records are readily available in an electronic format that can be e-mailed or downloaded easily, these should be made as quickly as the equipment allows.
(d) All requests for public records must either be satisfied or be acknowledged in writing by the public office within three business days following the office’s receipt of the request. If a request is deemed significantly beyond “routine”, such as seeking a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive research, the acknowledgment must include the following:
1. An estimated number of business days it will take to satisfy the request;
2. An estimated cost if copies are requested; and
3. Any items within the request that may be exempt from disclosure.
(3) Fees and payment.
(a) Those seeking public records will be charged only the actual cost of making copies or printing pictures and shall also pay the actual cost (e.g. postage) of delivery and other supplies used in mailing, delivery or transmission of the public record. Payment for public records requests is required prior to the actual copying or printing of records.
(b) The cost for copies made on letter or legal size paper is set forth in the codified ordinances. If the Public Records Custodian uses an outside copying service to make the copies, the requestor will be required to pay the cost of the entire copying job, as billed by the copying service. Copies that are requested in some format other than normal letter or legal paper will be “at cost”, without taking into account employee time spent preparing the copies. (For example, public records in electronic format placed on a CD will be assessed the cost of the CD, plus the cost, if any, of creating the electronic copies.)
(c) Public records will only be copied by the Public Records Custodian or other authorized officers, employees or representatives. The Public Records Custodian may use an outside copying service to make the copies, at the Public Records Custodian’s discretion. Under no circumstances will the requestor be permitted to make the copies himself or herself. The manner of copying is at the discretion of the Public Records Custodian or the department. Requests to copy a certain number of public records on a given page, by “reducing” copy size or otherwise, may be met at the discretion of the Public Records Custodian or department.
(d) Individual departments may adopt a policy that if fewer than ten pages or copies are requested, no fee will be charged. All requests exceeding ten pages will be charged a fee of $0.07 per page for all pages copied. No receipt will be required to be issued for payments received of less than $1.
(e) State law may provide for specific fees to be charged for certain records (e.g., police accident reports: $4 each, with photographs at an additional cost, pursuant to R.C. § 5502.12).
(4) Denial of a public records request.
(a) Under certain circumstances, records are not defined as “public records” under state law or are exempt from disclosure under federal law. In these situations, the public record request will be denied on that basis. The Ohio Revised Code requires that any denial be supported by legal authority. A denial that is responding to a written public records request will also be given in writing using form RC 101. Written reason for denial will not be required for verbal public records requests. Any denial of public records requested must include an explanation, including legal authority. If portions of a record are public and portions are exempt, the exempt portions are to be redacted and the rest released. If there are redactions, each redaction must be accompanied by a supporting explanation, including legal authority, unless federal or state law authorized or requires the redaction.
(b) The Ohio Revised Code regards certain actions as being “denials” of public record requests. These situations are handled as follows.
1. Redaction.
a. The Ohio Revised Code defines a
REDACTION as obscuring, or deleting any information that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a record in R.C. § 149.011. Examples of redaction are “blacking out” or “whiting out” or “cutting out” portions of a document.
b. When a public record contains information that is not within the definition of a “public record” as defined by law. or is exempt by law, the Public Records Custodian will make available that portion of the public record that does meet the definition of a “public record”. The Public Records Custodian shall make a copy of the public record, perform the redaction, lien make a copy of that sheet and make the second copy available to the requestor. The requestor will not be charged for the first copy made. If practical, the first copy will be retained by the Public Records Custodian.
2. Requests that are ambiguous, overly broad, or are difficult to identify the public records requested. At times, a requestor may make a public records request from which the Public Records Custodian cannot determine which public records are being sought. In such circumstances, the Public Records Custodian will inform the requestor that the public records request is denied, but will give the requestor an opportunity to more accurately describe the public records sought. If the requestor is seeking public records organized in a certain way, but the public records are not organized in that way, the Public Records Custodian will inform the requestor of the manner that the public records of the office under discussion are maintained and accessed. The requestor may then submit a public records request that more accurately reflects the actual organization of the public records sought.
(D) Compliance. The Public Records Custodian reserves the right to consult with legal counsel prior to the release of any public records. This is to allow the city to comply with laws regarding the release of certain records.
(E) Failure to respond to a public records request. The city recognizes the legal and nonlegal consequences of failure to properly respond to a public records request. A public office’s failure to comply with a request may result in remedies and damages according to R.C. § 149.43.
(Ord. 4134, passed 5-10-2012)