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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13462 RESOLUTION NO. 13462 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING RULES GOVERNING ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS WHEREAS, pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act, CRS § 24-72-201 (the “Act”), writings which are made, maintained or kept by the City, regardless of the format or medium, are open for inspection by the public at reasonable times, unless specifically exempted from inspection by the Act or other Colorado law, subject to any rules which have been adopted by the City in order to protect the records and prevent unnecessary interference with City operations; and WHEREAS, the rules shall facilitate the City’s compliance with the Act; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: SECTION 1: The Rules Governing Access to Public Records, a copy of which is attached hereto, having been approved as to form by the City Attorney, are hereby approved. SECTION 2: The officers and staff of the City are directed and authorized to perform any and all acts consistent with the intent of this Resolution and the attached Rules, to effectuate the policies and procedures described herein. SECTION 3. This Resolution shall become effective upon passage and approval. INTRODUCED: June 27, 2016 BY: Ed Brown City Clerk’s Office Item # M-9 Background Paper for Proposed Resolution COUNCIL MEETING DATE: June 27, 2016 TO: President Stephen G. Nawrocki and Members of City Council CC: Sam Azad, City Manager VIA: Office of the City Clerk FROM: Gina Dutcher, City Clerk SUBJECT: A RESOLUTION ADOPTING RULES GOVERNING ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS SUMMARY: This Resolution adopts an official set of Rules that govern access to public records which is consistent with Colorado Open Records Act, CRS § 24-72-201 (the “Act”). PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: None. BACKGROUND: Under the Colorado Open Records Act, CRS § 24-72-201 (the “Act”), writings which are made, maintained or kept by the City, regardless of the format or medium, are open for inspection by the public at reasonable times, unless specifically exempted from inspection by the Act or other Colorado law, subject to any rules which have been adopted by the City in order to protect the records and prevent unnecessary interference with City operations. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not Applicable for this Resolution. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: Not Applicable for this Resolution. ALTERNATIVES: Do not adopt a specific set of rules governing the access to public records. RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the Resolution Attachment: Rules/Guidelines • city of FY._ PUEBLO colorado CITY OF PUEBLO RULES GOVERNING ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS Under the Colorado Open Records Act, CRS § 24-72-201 (the "Act"), writings which are made, maintained or kept by the City, regardless of the format or medium, are open for inspection by the public at reasonable times, unless specifically exempted from inspection by the Act or other Colorado law, subject to any rules which have been adopted by the City in order to protect the records and prevent unnecessary interference with City operations. The rules that follow shall govern the request and release of City documents. A. Rules Regarding Requests 1. Request Must be Written and Specific. All record requests shall be in writing and directed to the City Clerk. The request shall be made with sufficient specificity to permit the efficient collection of documents. 2. Separate Process for Criminal Records. Requests for criminal justice records shall not be governed by this document. Requestors shall be directed to the records division of the police department. 3. Preservation of Records. Once a request has been made, all records pertaining to that request must be maintained until the request has been fulfilled. (After the request has been filled, the retention of a requested document shall be governed by the City's Record Retention Policy.) Any employee who willfully destroys a requested document shall be subject to discipline. B. Inspection Rules 1. Timing. While the City will strive to provide records within three business days, record requests shall not take priority over the previously scheduled work activities of the City. If the City does not believe that it can fulfill the request within three business days, the requestor should be notified and provided with an estimated timeframe for when the documents will be made available. 2. Control of Records. The City shall retain control of the records at all times. Inspection is subject to the supervision of the records custodian. 3. General Hours for Inspection. Records shall be available for inspection by appointment from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except during any holiday observed by the City. 4. Failure to Inspect. In the event requested public records are not viewed within 10 business days of the requesting party being notified of their availability, the public records shall be returned to their normal place and the requestor shall be required to submit a new request for the requested records. Ordinance No. Passed 07/11/16 C. Rules Related to Records. 1. Creation of Records NOT Required. The City is not required to create a document in order to respond to a request for information. As an example, a person might request that the City provide him/her with the number of weed violations that occurred on a particular block for a certain time period. If there is a document that contains that information, the City is required to produce it. However, if no such record exists, the City is not required to find the information and generate a record. 2. Records NOT Accessible. Although most government documents are open to public inspection, certain information is specifically protected by the Act and the City must deny access to that information. The City will deny disclosure to the documents exempted from the Act. 3. Copyrighted Materials. If there is a request for any document that the City reasonably believes is copyrighted, either because of a statement contained on the document or by the inclusion of the copyright symbol ©, the document will not be photocopied. 4. Deleted Documents. Unless the requestor can provide a sufficient factual basis to establish bad faith, the City shall have no duty to recreate or reconstruct any mailbox or hard drive in order to respond to a request for documents. D. Rules Related to Production and Denial. 1. Denial. If inspection is denied, the requesting individual must be notified promptly. If asked, a written denial stating the specific law or regulation upon which the denial is based shall be provided to the requesting party. 2. Copies. With the exception of copyrighted materials, the public may make copies of any document that is available for inspection under the Act. 3. Electronic Copies. Whenever practicable,the City will provide records in electronic form. If an electronic copy of a document is provided, it should only be released in an unalterable form (a PDF file, for example). 4. Transmission of Documents. Upon request, the City shall transmit copies of requested record(s)to the requesting party by United States mail, other delivery service, facsimile, or electronic mail. 5. Fees. a. Hard copies. The City's fee for producing hard copies of any record shall be twenty-five cents per standard page. The fee for a non-standard page shall be the actual cost of providing the copy. b. Transmission. The requestor shall be required to pay all costs associated with the transmission of the records, as well as any costs associated with the production of the records, prior to the City's transmitting any record. No transmission fee will be imposed for records transmitted by electronic mail.. c. Research and Retrieval. When a records request takes longer than one hour to fulfill, the City shall charge $30 per hour for each hour in excess of the first hour. All time spent collecting,reviewing, and redacting the documents shall be included in this calculation. Ordinance No. Passed 07/11/16 d. Payment in advance. Any time a request is reasonably expected to exceed two hours of staff time to complete, the City shall estimate the costs of fulfilling the request and require an advance deposit of 100%of the estimated costs of the search before undertaking the search. Ordinance No. Passed 07/11/16