Jones Township

County of Elk

Open Records Policy

As Established: December 8, 2008

By Resolution #2008-08

 

The following shall be the policy of the Jones Township Board of Supervisors regarding open records as per Act 3 of 2008, the Right-to-Know Law:

 

Open Record Officer:    Laurie Storrar, Township Secretary, is hereby designated the Open Records Officer.  The Open Records Officer may be reached at: 

Address:  320 Faries Street, PO Box 25, Wilcox, PA 15870

                                                Telephone:  814-929-5138

                                                Fax:  814-929-5967

                                                E-mail:  lstorrar@ncentral.com

Business hours:                      Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm

General

            All documents deemed public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the Municipal Building during established business hours 9am to 4pm with the exception of weekends and holidays.

 

Requests

            Requests shall be made in writing to the township Open Records Officer on a form provided by the township.  Right-to-Know Uniform Request Form (MS Word Format) - (Download Form)

 

Fees

Paper copies shall be 25 cents per page for one side, 15 cents for second side.  The certification of a record is $1 per record. Specialized documents including, but not limited to blue prints, color copies, and non-standard sized documents shall be charged the actual cost of production. If mailing is requested, the cost of postage will be charged. The township shall require prepayment if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.

 

Response

            The township shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible. The Open Records Officer shall cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original township documents while taking reasonable measure to protect township documents from the possibility of theft, damage, and/or modification.

            The Open Records Officer shall review all written requests for access to public records. As soon as possible, but no later than five business days after receiving a written request to access public records, the Open Records Officer shall respond to such requests in writing consistent with Act 3 of 2008, the Right-to-Know Law.

If access to a record is denied, the response shall include a reason for denial as stipulated in Act 3 of 2008, the Right-to-Know Law.

 

Contact Information for Appeals

           If a written request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal in writing to Terry Mutchler, Executive Director, Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building 400 North Street, Plaza Level Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225  

          

Appeals Process

The appeal shall be filed within 15 business days of the mailing date of the township’s response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial. The appeal shall state the grounds upon which the requester asserts the records is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the township for delaying or denying the request.