Right to Know – Coudersport Borough PA

Right To Know

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*PROVIDE AS MUCH SPECIFIC DETAIL AS POSSIBLE SO THAT THE BOROUGH OFFICIAL CAN IDENTY THE INFORMATION.

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**Public bodies may fill anonymous verbal or written requests. If the requestor wishes to purse 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.)
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMUNITY
Borough of Coudersport Open Records Policy
The purpose of this policy is to assure compliance with Act 3 of 2008, The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know
Law, as amended; to provide access to public records of Coudersport Borough; to preserve the integrity
of Coudersport Borough's records; and to minimize the financial impact to the residents of the borough regarding the resources utilized in the receipt and processing of public record requests and the retrieval
and copying of public records.
It is the policy of the Borough to require the presence of a designated employee when public records are
examined and inspected and to charge reasonable fees for duplication of public records of the Borough.
Coudersport Borough designates the Borough Manager as the Open Records Officer, responsible for
assuring compliance with the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, in accordance with the following
guidelines:
A. The Borough Manager may designate certain employee(s) to process public record requests.
B.
C.
D.
The Borough Manager is responsible for minimizing, where possible, the financial impact to
the Borough regarding the resources utilized in the receipt and processing of public record
request and the retrieval and copying of public records.
All requests for public records of the Borough under this policy shall be specific in
indentifying and describing each public record requested. In no case shall the Borough be
required to create a public record which does not exist or to compile, maintain, format or
organize a public record in a manner in which the Borough does not currently compile,
maintain, format or organize the public record. All requests for public records shall be
submitted in writing and include the date of the request; requestor's name, address, and
telephone number; certification of United States residency; signature of requestor and if
duplication is requested, appropriate payment.
The designated employee shall make a good faith effort to determine whether each record
requested is a public record.
E. The Borough shall facilitate a reasonable response to a request for Coudersport Borough's
public records. In no case is the Borough expected to provide extraordinary staff to respond
to the request, but will respond in a manner consistent with the Borough's administrative
responsibilities and consistent with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know
Law.
F. The designated employee shall respond to the requester within five (5) business days from
the date of receipt of the written request. If the Borough does not respond within five (5)
business days of receipt thereof, the request is deemed denied.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMUNITY
G. The response provided by the Borough shall consist of (1) approval for access to the public
record; (2) review of the request by the designated employee; or (3) denial of access to the
record requested.
H.
l.
If access to the public record requested is approved, the public record shall be available for
access during the regular business hours) M-F 8:30 - 4:30) of the Borough. The designated
employee shall cooperate fully with the requester, while also taking reasonable measures to
protect Borough public records from the possibility of theft and/or modification. The
presence of a designated employee is required when public records are examined and
inspected.
Fees for duplication of public records shall be as established by the Commonwealth's Office
of Open Records. These fees can be viewed at http://openrecords.state.pa.us The Borough
will charge $0.25 per photocopy. A "photocopy" is either a single-sided copy or one-side of a
double-sided black-and-white copy of a standard 8.5" x 11" page. The Borough may at its
discretion wave fees.
In the event the estimated cost of fulfilling a request submitted under this policy is expected
to exceed $25.00, the designated employee(s) shall obtain the expected cost in advance of
fulfilling the request to avoid unwarranted expense of Borough resources.
K. If the request is being reviewed, the notice provided by the Borough shall be in writing and
include the reason for the review and the expected respond date, which shall be within
thirty (30) days of the notice of review. If the Borough does not respond within thirty (30)
days thereof, the request is deemed denied. Review of the request is limited to situations
where:
a) The record requested contains information which is subject to access, as well as
information which is not subject to access that must be redacted prior to a grand of access.
The redacted information is considered a denial as to that information;
b) The record requires retrieval from a remote location;
c) A timely response cannot be accomplished due to staffing limitations;
d) A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record requested is a public record;
e) The requester has failed to comply with the Borough's policy and procedure
requirements; or
f) The requester refuses to pay the applicable fees.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMUNITY
g) The extent or nature of the request precludes a response within the required time period.
Upon a determination that one of the factors listed above applies, the Borough shall send written notice
to the requester within five 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 with an estimate of applicable fees
owed when the record becomes available. If the date that a response is expected to be provided is in
excess of 30 days, following the five business days allowed for, 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, the request shall be deemed denied on the day following the
date specified in the notice if the agency has not provided a response by that date.
L. If access to the record request is denied, the notice provided by the Borough shall be in
writing as indicated on the form attached hereto entitled "Denial of Request to Review
and/or Duplicate Coudersport Borough Records."
M. If the request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal with the
Commonwealth's Office of Open Records within fifteen (15) business days of the mailing
date of the Borough's notice of denial, or within fifteen (15) days of a deemed denial. The
appeal shall state the grounds upon which the requester asserts that the record is a public
record and shall address any grounds stated by the agency for delaying or denying the
request.
N. Within 30 days of the mailing date of the final determination of the appeals officer, the
requester or Borough may file a petition for review or other document as required by rule of
court with the court of common pleas for Potter County. The decision of the court shall
contain findings of fact and conclusions of law based upon the evidence as a whole. The
decision shall be clearly and concisely explain the rationale for the decision. A petition for
review under this section shall stay the release of documents until a decision is issued.
O. This policy shall be available for review at the Borough office.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMUNITY
G. The response provided by the Borough shall consist of (1) approval for access to the public
record; (2) review of the request by the designated employee; or (3) denial of access to the
record requested.
H. If access to the public record requested is approved, the public record shall be available for
access during the regular business hours) M-F 8:30 - 4:30) of the Borough. The designated
employee shall cooperate fully with the requester, while also taking reasonable measures to
protect Borough public records from the possibility of theft and/or modification. The
presence of a designated employee is required when public records are examined and
inspected.
1. Fees for duplication of public records shall be as established by the Commonwealth's Office
of Open Records. These fees can be viewed at http://openrecords.state.pa.us The Borough
will charge $0.25 per photocopy. A "photocopy" is either a single-sided copy or one-side of a
double-sided black-and-white copy of a standard 8.5" x 11" page. The Borough may at its
discretion wave fees.
J. In the event the estimated cost of fulfilling a request submitted under this policy is expected
to exceed $25.00, the designated employee(s) shall obtain the expected cost in advance of
fulfilling the request to avoid unwarranted expense of Borough resources
K. If the request is being reviewed, the notice provided by the Borough shall be in writing and
include the reason for the review and the expected respond date, which shall be within
thirty (30) days of the notice of review. If the Borough does not respond within thirty (30)
days thereof, the request is deemed denied. Review of the request is limited to situations
where:
a) The record requested contains information which is subject to access, as well as
information which is not subject to access that must be redacted prior to a grand of access.
The redacted information is considered a denial as to that information;
b) The record requires retrieval from a remote location;
c) A timely response cannot be accomplished due to staffing limitations;
d) A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record requested is a public record;
e) The requester has failed to comply with the Borough's policy and procedure
requirements; or
f) The requester refuses to pay the applicable fees.

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