HOME RULE BOROUGH OF EDINBORO 

RESOLUTION NO.  9-2008

WHEREAS, The Borough Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro recognizes the importance of public records as the record of the acts of this municipality and the repository of information concerning this Borough; and

WHEREAS, The public has the right under the law to inspect and procure copies under the Right to Know Law; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate, therefor, for the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro to establish current policy and regulations for the inspection and/or acquisition of copies of those public records, not exempted by law, by the public of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

WHEREAS, The Right-To-Know Law Act 3 of 2008, is an Act providing for access to public information, for a designated open-records officer, for imposing penalties, and making related appeals ; and

WHEREAS, The Borough Council wishes to amend Resolution 1-2003; and

WHEREAS, Council amends Number 2 Definitions,  a. Public Record(s) as updated by Senate Bill 1 signed February 14, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Council amends section Number 6 d “Fees” for “Public Records Maintained Electronically” by replacing the word “disk” with “CD”; and

WHEREAS, The Borough Council wishes to adopt all changes in Act 3 of 2008 as enacted; and

WHEREAS, Council wishes to adopt The Office of Open Records Rules and Regulations when approved during the 2009-2010 Legislative Session; and

WHEREAS, The Borough Council designate the open-records officer as the Manager or the Assistant to the Manager of the Borough; and

WHEREAS, The Borough Council designate the open-records appeals officer as the Borough Council; and District Attorney Bradley H. Foulk, District Attorney’s Office, 140 West Sixth Street, Erie, PA 16501, (814) 451-6349 for Criminal records; and Terry Mutchler, Executive Director, Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 4^th Floor, Harrisburg, PA  17120; and

WHEREAS, The Borough Council wishes that the remaining terms, conditions and provisions of the Right to Know Ordinance adopted by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro pursuant to Resolution 1-2003 are hereby ratified, approved and reenacted; and

 

NOW, THEREFOR, BE IT RESOLVED, and the same hereby is resolved by Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro, assembled this 8^th day of December, 2008, that the "Acquisition of Public Records - Policy and Regulations", attached hereto and made part hereof, as amended and established by Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro to be effective this date.

 Taras Jemetz, Borough Manager                                   Mary Ann Horne, Mayor of Council

 

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HOME RULE BOROUGH OF EDINBORO ERIE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

POLICY AND REGULATIONS REGARDING EXAMINATION, INSPECTION AND DUPLICATION OF PUBLIC RECORDS

             1.         Purpose. The Home Rule Borough of Edinboro recognizes the importance of

public records as the record of the acts of this municipality and the repository of information concerning this borough. The public has the right under the law to examine, inspect and procure copies of public records under the Right to Know Law, Act 3 of 2008. The purpose of this policy and these regulations is to assure compliance with the Right to Know Law, to preserve the integrity of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's files and documents, and to minimize the impact to the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro regarding the time spent in the research and the duplication of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's files and public records. Nothing in this policy and regulations shall provide for or be deemed to provide for the examination, inspection or duplication of a record that is not a public record.

             2.         Definitions.

                         a.         Public Record(s). "Public record(s)" shall mean any account, voucher or

contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro or the acquisition, use or disposal of services or of supplies, materials, equipment or other property and any minute, order or decision of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro fixing the personal or property rights, privileges, immunities, duties or obligations of any person or group of persons: Provided, That the term "public record(s)" shall not mean any report, communication or other paper, the publication of which would disclose the institution, progress or result of an investigation undertaken by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro in the performance of its official duties, except those reports filed by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro pertaining to the safety and health in industrial plants; and it shall not include any record, document, material, exhibit, pleading, report, memorandum or other paper, access to or the publication of which is prohibited, restricted or forbidden by statute, law or order or decree of court, or which would operate to the prejudice or impairment of a person's reputation or personal security, or which would result in a loss by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro or any of its subdivisions, commissions or municipal authorities of federal funds, excepting therefrom however the record of any conviction for any criminal act.

                        b.          Words used herein that are defined in the Right to Know Law shall have

the definition scribed to them in the Right to Know Law per Act 3 of 2008 and as that law is hereinafter amended, modified and/or changed.

             3.         Policy. It is the policy of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro to make the public

records of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro available for examination, inspection and duplication by the citizens of this Commonwealth in accordance with these policies and regulations and the Right to Know Law.                                            

             4.         Request. Public records will be available for examination, inspection and copying

at the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro Municipal Building during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the exception of holidays. Requests shall be in writing and directed to the Borough Manager at the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro Municipal Building, 124 Meadville Street, Edinboro, PA 16412. Written requests shall be on a form provided by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro and shall include the date of the request, the name and address of the requester, a clear description of the specific public record(s) requested and the address to which the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro should send its response. The written request may be submitted by e0mail, U.S. Mail, fax, or in person.   

                         5.         Response. The Borough Manager or his designee shall review all written requests for examination, inspection and duplication of public records. The Borough Manager upon receiving a request for public records,

            i)  note the date of receipt on the written request;

            ii) compute the day on which the five-day period under section 901 will expire and make a notation of that date on the written request; and

            iii)  maintain an electronic or paper copy of the request for at least thirty days and if an appeal is filed until a final determination of the appeal.

iv)  shall make a good faith effort to:

a.         Determine if the record requested is a public record; and

b.         Provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible, but no later than five (5) business days from the date of receipt, unless the Borough Manager notifies the requester of the reason for the delay in writing within the first five (5) business days of receipt of the request pursuant to Paragraph 7 below.

c.           The Borough Manager or designee shall cooperate with persons requesting to examine, inspect and/or duplicate originals of the Borough's public records, while taking reasonable measures to protect the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's public records, documents and records from the possibility of theft and/or modification in accordance with the Right to Know Law. No public records, documents or records shall be removed from the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's Municipal Building and shall only be examined, inspected and duplicated within the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's Municipal Building.

            6.          Fees. The Borough Manager or designee shall collect fees from the requester prior to sending or handing out such requested information, in accordance with the following schedule of fees:

                        a.         Copying. Photocopies of public records shall cost 25¢ per page per side.

                        b.         Postage. If mailing is requested, the actual cost of postage shall be paid as well as the copying fee prior to mailing.

c.        Facsimile. If facsimile transmission is requested, the actual cost thereof shall be paid prior to transmission.

                          d.         Public Records Maintained Electronically. If a public record is only maintained electronically, the public record shall be duplicated onto a CD and the cost shall be $5.00 per CD. If the requester requests that the public record maintained electronically be converted to paper, the cost shall be 25¢ per page per side. A new CD shall be necessary each time public records are requested and provided.

                        e.                      Certification. If the requester requests that the public records be officially certified as an official public record, there will be an additional charge of $10.00 for the certification.

The duplicated public records shall not be released to the requester for removal from the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's Municipal Building or mailed to the requester until the total cost for the duplication thereof is paid to the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro. If the Borough Manager or designee reasonably believes that the duplication of the public records requested will cost in excess of $100.00, the Borough Manager or designee may require prepayment of the total estimated fees for the duplication. The requester will receive a refund of any portion of the estimated prepaid fee if the final cost is less than the estimated amount, or will be required to pay the additional cost to release the public records if the cost thereof is in excess of the estimated prepaid amount.

             7.         Delay in Responding to Request. Upon receipt of a written request for examination, inspection or duplication of records, if it is determined that one of the following applies:

                        a.         The request for access requires redaction of a public record in accordance with Paragraph 8 below;

                        b.         The request for access requires the retrieval of a record stored in a remote location;

                        c.         A timely response to the request for access cannot be accomplished due to bona fide or specified staffing limitations;

                        d.         A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record is a public record subject to examination, inspection and duplication under the Right to Know Law;

                        e.         The requester has not complied with the Borough of Edinboro's policies and regulations regarding access to public records; or

                          f.          The requester refuses to pay the applicable fees as provided in these policies and regulations;

Then the Borough Manager or designee shall provide written notice thereof to the requester within the first five (5) business days after receiving the written request and shall specify that the request is being reviewed, the reason for the delay and review, and the anticipated date that a response is expected to be provided.

             8.         Redaction. If it is determined that a public record contains information which is

subject to examination, inspection and duplication, as well as information which is not subject to examination, inspection and duplication, the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro's response shall grant access to the information which is subject to examination, inspection and duplication and deny access to the information which is not subject to examination, inspection and duplication. If the information which is not subject to access is an integral part of the public record and cannot be separated, then the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro shall redact from the public record the information that is not subject to access and the response shall grant access to the information which is subject to examination, inspection and duplication. Information which is redacted in accordance with these policies and regulations and the Right to Know Law shall be deemed a denial of that requested information.

            9.         Denial of Request. If a response is a denial or deemed denial of a written request

for the examination, inspection or duplication of a record, whether it is a denial of an entire record or a denial of only a portion of a record, a written response shall be issued to the requester and the written response shall include:

                         a.         A description of the record requested;

                        b.          The specific reason(s) for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal authority. If the denial is the result of a determination that the record requested is not a public record, the specific reasons for the determination that the record is not a public record must be provided;

                        c.         The type or printed name, title, business address, business telephone number and signature of the public official or public employee on whose authority the denial is issued;

                        d.         The date of the response; and

                        e.          The procedure to appeal the denial under the Right to Know Law.

            10.       Appeal Process. Any citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania denied examination, inspection and/or duplication of a record he/she believes to be a public record, may appeal from such denial. If a written request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file exceptions with the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro or District Attorney Bradley H. Foulk, District Attorney’s Office, 140 West Sixth Street, Erie, PA 16501, (814) 451-6349 for Criminal records or Terry Mutchler, Executive Director, Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 4^th Floor, Harrisburg, PA  17120; within fifteen (15) days of the mailing date of the initial denial or the date of deemed denial. The exceptions filed by the requester:

                        a.         Shall be in writing;

                        b.          Shall state grounds on which or list the specific reasons why the requester believes that the record should be considered a public record; and

                        c.          Shall also address any grounds stated by the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro for delaying or denying the request.

The Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro or District Attorney Bradley H. Foulk, District Attorney’s Office, 140 West Sixth Street, Erie, PA 16501, (814) 451-6349 for Criminal records; or Terry Mutchler, Executive Director, Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 4^th Floor, Harrisburg, PA  17120; shall make a final determination on the exceptions filed by the requester within thirty (30) days of the mailing date of the exceptions by the requester. Prior to issuing the final determination regarding the exceptions filed by the requester, the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro may conduct a hearing, if it deems necessary. The determination by the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro shall be the final order of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro regarding the request. If the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro determines that Home Rule Borough of Edinboro correctly denied the request for the examination, inspection and/or duplication, the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro shall provide a written explanation to the requester of the reason for the denial.

             11.        Judicial Appeal. Within thirty (30) days of the mailing date of the final determination by the Council of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro affirming the denial of the examination, inspection and/or duplication, the requester may file a petition for review or other document as might be required by rule of court with the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County, Pennsylvania or may bring an action in a local magisterial district. The requester filing an appeal must serve the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro with notice of any appeal filed or action commenced in accordance with the Right to Know Law.