“The Right to Know” Policy

I.                  Objective

This statement sets forth the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry’s policy with regards to the “Open Records Act”, also known as the “Right to Know Law”, 65 P.S. §66.1.  It establishes the policy regarding the examination, inspection, or duplication of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry’s (hereafter known as the Authority), records.  The Authority reserves the right to amend this policy at any time.  All Authority employees shall read this policy prior to processing any record requests.

II.               Scope

This policy covers all Authority employees and all Authority records requests.

III.           Definitions

A.           Public Record:

The term “public record” includes:

i.      Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds by the Authority or its acquisition, use or disposal of services or of supplies, materials, equipment or other property; and

ii.                   Any minute, resolution, order or decision by the Authority fixing the personal or property rights, privileges, immunities, duties or obligations of any person or group of persons.

The term “public record” does not include: 

i.       Any report, communication or other paper that would disclose the beginning progress or result of an investigation undertaken by the Authority in the performance of its official duties.

ii.                   Any report, memorandum or other paper, access to or the publication of which is prohibited, restricted or forbidden by 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 the loss by the Authority of Federal Funds, except that any conviction for any criminal act is permitted to be disclosed.

B.           Record: 

Any document maintained by an agency, in any form, whether public or not.

C.           Requester:

Any person who is a resident of the Commonwealth and requests a record pursuant to the Right to Know Act.

D.          Response: 

Access to a record OR the Authority’s written notice granting, denying or partially granting and partially denying access to a record.

IV.           Policy

A.           Procedure for access to public records

As a general rule, all public records within the possession of the Authority must be accessible for inspection and duplication during the regular business hours of the Authority’s Office to any person who resides in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

B.           Requests

Requests may be (1) VERBAL, (2) ANONYMOUS, or (3) WRITTEN.  Requests may not be made via E-MAIL.  A request does not need to include any explanation as to the purpose of the request or the intended use of the records requested.  The Authority may not deny a request based upon any belief as to the intended use of the records.

(1)    VERBAL REQUESTS: ALL VERBAL requests must be directed toward the Authority ‘s “Manager” at: 620 N. Chestnut St., Derry, PA  15627

(2)    ANONYMOUS REQUESTS: If the request is ANONYMOUS, and the requester later wants to pursue the remedies or relief set forth in the Right to Know Act, a WRITTEN request must then be submitted.

(3)    WRITTEN REQUESTS:

a.       WRITTEN requests may be submitted in person, by mail, or by facsimile.

b.      ALL WRITTEN requests must:

1)      be addressed and directed to the Authority “Manager” 620 N. Chestnut St., Derry, PA  15627 

2.      identify or describe the records so that the Authority can ascertain what records are being requested; and

3)   include the name and address where the Authority should send its response.

C.     THE AUTHORITY’S RESPONSE TO REQUESTS

Upon receipt of a WRITTEN request for records, the Authority shall determine if the records are public records and will respond accordingly to the request within five (5) business days from the date of receipt of the request.

If the Authority fails to respond within five (5) business days from the date of receipt of the written request, the request is considered denied.

EXCEPTION:  Upon receipt of a written request, if the Authority determines that one of the following applies:

1)        the records require redaction as set forth in Section F below:

2)        the records must be retrieved from a storage unit;

3)        a response within five (5) days is not feasible due to specific staffing limitations;

4)        the records must be legally reviewed to determine whether they are public records within the meaning of the Right to Know Act;

5)        the request was not made in accordance with the Authority’s policies regarding access to public records; or

6)        the requester refuses to pay the Authority’s applicable fees,

then the Authority must send a written notice to the requester within five (5) business days of the receipt of the request stating that the request is being reviewed, the reason for the review, and that a response is expected to be forthcoming within thirty (30) days.

D.          GRANTED REQUESTS

If no exceptions preclude the release of the records, the Authority shall comply with the request and forward a copy of the records to the requester within five (5) business days of the receipt of the request.  Upon request, the documents may be certified by the appropriate public official upon payment of any applicable fees.

E.            DENIALS

If the Authority determines that the requester is not entitled to the records, or is only entitled to part of the records, the Authority must issue a written response to the requester that includes:

1)      A description of the requested record;

2)      The specific reasons for the denial, including any citation of supporting legal authority. If the denial is based on the determination that the records are not public records, the Authority’s specific reasons why they are not public records must be included;

3)      The typed name, title, business address, business telephone number and signature of the Authority employee or official who denied the request or on whose authority the denial is issued;

4)      The date of the response;

5)      The procedure to appeal the denial pursuant to the Right to Know Act, as set forth in Section G below.

F.            REDACTION

If the Authority determines that a public record contains information which is subject to access as well as information that is privileged, the Authority shall separate out and give the requester access to that part of the record that the requester is entitled to, and shall deny the requester access to the privileged information.

If the requested information which is not subject to access is an integral part of the public record and cannot be separated, the Authority will redact that privileged information from the records and give the requester the redacted public records.  Redacted information is deemed a denial under the Right to Know Act.

The Authority may NOT deny access to the public record if the privileged information can be redacted.

G.          APPEAL PROCEDURE

1.      APPEAL TO THE AUTHORITY

If the Authority denies a written request, the requester may file exceptions with the Authority’s board of directors within fifteen (15) days of the mailing date of the Authority’s response or within fifteen (15) days of a deemed denial.

These exceptions must state the grounds upon which the requester asserts that the record is a public record and should address the grounds stated by the Authority for delaying or denying the request.

The Authority’s Board of Directors final determination regarding the requester’s exceptions must be made within thirty (30) days of the mailing date of the exceptions.

Prior to issuing the final determination, the Authority’s Board of Directors may conduct a hearing.

This determination is the final order of the Authority.

If the Authority’s Board of Directors determines that the Authority correctly denied the request, the Authority’s Board of Directors shall provide a written explanation of the reason(s) for the denial to the requester.

2.      JUDICIAL APPEAL

Within thirty (30) days of the Authority’s denial or of the mailing date of the Authority’s Board of Directors final determination affirming a denial, a requester may file a petition for review in the Court of Common Pleas of Westmoreland County or bring an action in the applicable magisterial district.

The Authority must be served with proper notice of such an action, and shall have an opportunity to respond in accordance with applicable court rules.

The JUDICIAL RECORD before the court shall consist of:

1)        the request;

2)        the Authority’s response

3)        the requester’s exceptions, if any;

4)        the hearing transcript, if any ; and

5)        the Authority’s Board of Directors final determination, if any.

H.          FEES

POSTAGE:  Fees for postage may not exceed the actual cost of mailing.

DUPLICATION: Fees for duplication shall be the reasonable cost of $.50 per page as well as a fee of $15.00/hour for the time involved in duplicating the records.

CERTIFICATION: The Certification of any copy of a public record shall be an additional charge of $12.00 over and above the actual duplication expenses.

WAIVER OF FEES: The Authority may waive the fees for the duplication of a public record in the event that:

1)      the requester duplicates the public record; or

2)      the Authority Board of Directors determines that it is in the public interest to do so.

LIMITATION: No other fees may be imposed by the Authority

PREPAYMENT: If the fees required to fulfill a request are expected to exceed $100.00, the Authority may require the requester to prepay an estimate of said fees. 

I.       IMPLEMENTATION 

The above policy shall take effect on March 12, 2003 and supersedes all previous ”Right to Know” policies of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.