RESOLUTION
NO. #12-16-2008B
RIGHT-TO-KNOW
I. Introduction
The Township is a local agency for
purposes of the Right-to-Know Law. As such, any Record in the possession of the Township
shall be presumed to be a public record, except in the following circumstances:
(a)
The record is
exempt under the Right-to-Know Law;
(b)
The record is
protected by the attorney-work product doctrine, the
attorney-client
privilege, or other privilege recognized by a court
interpreting
the laws of the
(c)
The record is
exempt from disclosure under any other federal or state law
or
regulation, or judicial order or decree.
The term “Record”
includes any document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph, film or
sound recording, information stored or maintained electronically, and
data-processed or image-processed document.
Non-public records shall not be disclosed. Requests for public records can be made by any
person who is a legal resident of the
II. Procedures
Requests for records must be made in writing.
The Township has
designated the Township Secretary to act as the Open-Records Officer
("Officer"). The Officer's contact information is set forth below:
Township Secretary
Telelphone:
610-847-5058
Facsimile:
610-847-5812
Email: nockamixonclerk@epix.net
Questions regarding this policy or the
Right-to-Know Law should be directed to the Officer listed above.
All requests must be addressed to the Officer, and
all such requests must be submitted in writing, by
Unless otherwise required by law, a written request need not include any explanation of the requester's reason for requesting the records or the intended use of such records. The Township shall assign a tracking number to each filed form so as to track the Township’s progress in responding to requests under the Right-to-Know Law.
Prior to granting a request for access in accordance with the Right-to-Know Law, the Township may require a requester to prepay an estimate of the fees authorized by law if the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed $100.00.
A record being provided to a requester shall be provided in the medium requested if it exists in that medium; otherwise, it shall be provided in the medium in which it exists. The Township shall not be required to create a record which does not currently exist or to otherwise compile, maintain, format or organize a record in a manner in which it does not currently compile, maintain, format or organize such record.
Upon receipt of a written request for a public record, the Officer shall do the following:
(a)
Note the date
of the receipt on the written request;
(b) Compute the day on which the five-day period will expire, and make a notation of that date on the written request; and
(c) Create a file for the retention of the original request, a copy of the response, a record of written communications with the requester, and a copy of other communications.
There is no limit on the number of public records a single requester may seek. Except as otherwise stated herein and as provided by law, a request of a public record may be denied only to the extent it is duplicative of a prior request by the same requester.
III. Township's Response
Upon
receipt of a written request for access to a record, the Township shall make a
good faith effort to determine if the record requested is a public record and
whether the Township has possession, custody or control of the identified
record. When doing so, the Township will
respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at the time of
the request. Under the Right-to-Know Law, the Township must send a response
within five (5) business days of receipt of the written request for access, or
else the written request shall be deemed denied. Model response forms are attached to this
Policy.
Upon receipt of a written request for
access, the Officer shall determine if one of the following applies:
(a)
The request
for access requires redaction of a record in accordance with the Right-to-Know
Law;
(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 and specified staffing limitations;
(d) A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record is a record subject to access under the Right-to-Know Law;
(e)
The requester has not complied with the Township’s
policies regarding access to records;
(f) The requester has been notified of the applicable fees authorized by the Right-to-Know Law and has refused to pay them; or
(g) The extent or nature of the request precludes a response within the required time period of five (5) business days.
Upon
a determination that one of the factors listed above applies, the Officer shall
send written notice to the requester within five (5) business days of receipt
of the request for access. The notice shall include a statement notifying the
requester that the request for access is being reviewed, the reason for the
review, a reasonable date that a response is expected to be provided, and an
estimate of applicable fees owed when the record becomes available. Upon
notification to the requester that the records are available, the Township must
keep the records for 60 days.
If the date that a response is expected to be provided is in excess of thirty (30) days, following the five (5) business days allowed for above, the request for access shall be deemed denied unless the requester has agreed in writing to an extension to the date specified in the notice. If the requester agrees to the extension in writing, the request shall be deemed denied on the day following the date specified if the Township has not provided a response by that date.
RESOLUTION adopted this __16_ day of _December__, 2008.
BOARD
OF SUPERVISORS OF
Nancy C. Janyszeski, Chair
James A. Litzenberger, Vice Chair
Henry J. Gawronski
Bruce G. Keyser
Albert M. Santopietro
STANDARD RIGHT-TO-KNOW REQUEST FORM
DATE REQUESTED:
REQUEST SUBMITTED BY: E-MAIL
NAME OF REQUESTOR :______________________________________
STREET ADDRESS :_____________________________________________
TELEPHONE (Optional):___________________________________________________
RECORDS REQUESTED:
*Provide as much specific detail as possible so the Township
can identify the information.
DO YOU WANT COPIES? YES or NO
DO YOU WANT TO INSPECT THE RECORDS? YES or NO
DO YOU WANT CERTIFIED COPIES OF RECORDS? YES or NO
____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT TO KNOW OFFICER:
DATE RECEIVED BY THE TOWNSHIP:
TOWNSHIP FIVE (5)-DAY RESPONSE DUE:
**Public bodies may fill anonymous verbal or written
requests. If the requestor wishes to
pursue the relief and remedies provided for in this Act, the request must be in
writing. (Section 702.) Written requests need not include
an explanation why information is sought or the intended use of the information
unless otherwise required by law.
(Section 703.)
Right-To-Know Response Form
Sample Granted Request
Date
Citizen
Name
Address
Telephone
Number
Dear [Citizen],
Thank you for writing to
On [Insert date received by Township],
you requested documents that [insert description of information
requested, or restate their request]. Your request is granted and the requested
responsive documents are enclosed.
Respectfully,
SIGNATURE
Township Secretary
Right-to-Know Officer
Right-To-Know Response Form
Sample Granted in Part/Denied in
Part
Date
Citizen Name
Address
Telephone Number
Dear [Citizen],
Thank you for writing to
On [date received by Township],
you requested [description of information requested, or restate their
request]. Your request is granted in part and denied in part as
follows. Your documents are enclosed.
However, the Township has withheld information that
is exempt from disclosure by law. We redacted [Describe redacted
information: Examples….social security number, academic transcripts, medical
information, or other exemptions] as outlined in Section 708(b).
This information is exempt from
disclosure under [CITE applicable section of the law. If precluded from release by other state or
federal law, rule or regulation, you must cite to that legal authority.]
You have a right to appeal this
denial of information in writing to Executive Director, Office of Open Records,
If you choose to file an appeal you
must do so within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township’s
response, as outlined in Section 1101.
If you have further questions, please call the Township Right-To-Know
Officer. Please be advised that
this correspondence will serve to close this record with our office as
permitted by law.
Respectfully,
SIGNATURE
Township Secretary
Right-to-Know Officer
Right-To-Know Response Form
Sample Denial
Date
Citizen Name
Address
Telephone Number
Dear [Citizen],
Thank you for writing to
On [Date received by Township],
you requested [Describe information requested, or restate their request].
Your request is denied for the following reasons, as permitted by Section 706
of the Act.
The [Township] has
denied your request because [describe specific type of information, such
as medical records, academic transcripts or other exemption items] is
exempt from disclosure. [Must cite applicable section of the RTK
law. If precluded from release by some other state or federal law, rule or
regulation, you must cite that legal authority.]
You have a right to appeal this
denial of information in writing to Executive Director, Office of Open Records,
If you choose to file an appeal you
must do so within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township’s
response. Section 1101.
If you have further questions, please call the Township Right-To-Know
Officer. Please be advised that
this correspondence will serve to close this record with our office as
permitted by law.
Respectfully,
SIGNATURE
Township Secretary
Right-to-Know Officer