(a) Public Records Policy. City Council, by resolution, shall adopt a public records policy in compliance with ORC 149.43 for responding to public records requests. In accordance with ORC 149.43, such public records policy shall be distributed to each City employee who is a records custodian, records manager, or otherwise has custody of the records of that City department or division. Each such employee shall be required to acknowledge receipt of the policy.
(b) Posting. At each City building or facility open to the public, there shall be posted a poster that describes the City's public records policy, which shall be posted in a conspicuous place. The policy shall also be posted on the City's website and shall be included in the City's Personnel Manual or other manual or handbook that contains employee policies and procedures.
(c) Training. In accordance with ORC 149.43, all elected officials of the City or their appropriate designee(s) shall attend public records training approved by the Ohio Attorney General.
(d) Materials Submitted in Response to Competitive Solicitation.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (d)(2) of this section, materials submitted in response to a competitive solicitation shall not be considered public records for the purposes of ORC 149.43 until the date the City Council awards the contract based on the competitive solicitation or upon the cancellation of the competitive solicitation.
(2) If all bids or proposals received in response to a competitive solicitation are rejected and, concurrently with the announcement of the rejection the City gives notice of its intent to reissue the solicitation, the materials submitted in response to the original competitive solicitation shall not be considered public records for the purposes of ORC 149.43 until the date the City Council announce the award of a contract based on the reissued competitive solicitation or the cancellation of the reissued competitive solicitation.
(3) For the purposes of this division, "competitive solicitation" means a request for proposals or any other solicitation or announcement by the City requiring bids or proposals for the provision of goods or services to the City.
Statutory Reference: ORC 9.28
(Ord. 2021-23. Adopted 12/29/21)