VILLAGE OF FAIRFAX PUBLIC RECORDS POLICY
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The Village of Fairfax (“Village”) intends at all times to comply fully with the Ohio Public Records Act and related laws, and to explain how the public may obtain public records from the Village.
This Public Records Policy shall apply to all public records kept by public offices of the Village, including all departments and employees. Ohio law shall govern the Village’s obligations, supplemented by certain additional guidelines provided here.
A copy of the most recent edition of the Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual is available via the Ohio Attorney General’s website (www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/YellowBook) for the purpose of keeping officials and employees of the Village and the public educated as to the Village’s obligations under Ohio’s Public Records Act, Ohio’s Open Meetings Act, records retention laws, and the Personal Information Systems Act.
DEFINING PUBLIC RECORDS
A “record” includes a document in any format, whether paper or electronic, that is created, received by, or comes under the jurisdiction of a public office of the Village that documents the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.
A “public record” is a “record” kept by a Village office at the time a public records request is made, subject to applicable exemptions from disclosure under Ohio or federal law. All public records must be organized and maintained in such a way that they can be made available for inspection and copying.
CUSTODIANS
The Village Administrator is designated as the Public Records Custodian of all public records that are maintained centrally by the Village, except to the extent any such records fall within the scope of the Fiscal Officer’s duties. To the extent allowed by law, the Village Administrator is designated to attend records training approved by the Ohio Attorney General in lieu of attendance by elected officials unless any elected official attends such training or designates otherwise. Department heads or their designees are the Public Records Custodians of all records maintained within their departments. Each department head is responsible for becoming familiar with this Public Records Policy and to educate the employees in his or her department about the Public Records Policy.
RESPONSE TIMEFRAME
The Village will make public records available for inspection during regular business hours, which are between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on regular business days. Public records will not be available for inspection on weekends, holidays, or outside regular business hours. Public records must be made available for inspection promptly. Copies of public records must be made available within a reasonable period of time. “Prompt” and “reasonable” take into account the volume of records requested, the proximity of the location where the records are stored, the necessity for any legal review or redaction, and other facts and circumstances pertaining to the records requested.
To the extent feasible, the Village seeks to acknowledge all requests for public records in writing, or to satisfy such requests, within three business days following the Village office’s receipt of the request, provided, however, that this goal shall not shorten the time allowed for response by law. All Public Records Custodians may take appropriate time to consult with legal counsel prior to responding.
HANDLING REQUESTS
No specific language is required to make a request for public records. The requester, however, must at least identify the public records requested with sufficient clarity to allow the office to identify, retrieve, and review the records.
The requester does not have to put a public records request in writing, and does not have to provide his or her identity or the intended use of the requested public records. The law does permit a Village office to ask for a written request, the requester’s identity, and/or the intended use of the information requested, but only if: (1) a written request or disclosure of identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing the office’s ability to identify, locate, or deliver the public records that have been requested; and (2) the Village first informs the requester that a written request is not required and that the requester may decline to reveal the requester’s identity or intended use.
When processing any request, a Village office does not have an obligation to create new records or perform a search or research for information in the office’s records. An electronic record is deemed to exist so long as a computer is already programmed to produce the record through the office’s standard use of sorting, filtering, or querying features. Although not required by law, the Village office may consider generating new records when practical under the circumstances.
When processing a request for inspection of a public record, an office employee may accompany the requester during inspection to make certain original records are not taken or altered. When processing a request for copies, public records will be copied only by a Public Records Custodian or other authorized officers, employees, or representatives. The Public Records Custodian may use an outside copying service to make the copies, at the Public Records Custodian’s discretion. Under no circumstances will the requester be permitted to make the copies or take records to be copied. The methods, means, and manner of making copies are at the discretion of the Public Records Custodian.
ELECTRONIC RECORDS
Records in the form of e-mail, text messaging, and instant messaging, including those sent and received via a hand-held communications device, are to be treated in the same fashion as records in other formats, such as paper or audiotape.
Public record content transmitted to or from private accounts or personal devices is subject to disclosure. All employees or representatives of the Village are required to retain their e-mail records and other electronic records, if they constitute public records, in accordance with applicable records retention schedules.
DENIAL AND REDACTION OF RECORDS
If the requester makes an ambiguous or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request such that the Village office cannot reasonably identify what public records are being requested, the request may be denied, but the office must then provide the requester an opportunity to revise the request by informing the requester of the manner in which records are maintained and accessed by the office.
If the Village office withholds, redacts, or otherwise denies requested records, it must provide an explanation, including legal authority, for the denial(s). If the initial request was made in writing, the explanation must also be in writing. If portions of a record are public and portions are exempt, the exempt portions may be redacted and the rest must be released. When making public records available for public inspection or copying, the office shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the redaction plainly visible.
COPYING AND MAILING COSTS
A requester seeking public records may be charged only the actual cost of making copies, not labor. The charge for paper copies is five cents per 8.5” x 11” black and white page. The charge for electronic files downloaded to a compact disc will be at actual cost. All other charges will be at actual cost, including, but not limited to, the cost of color copies, oversize copies, or the use of a copying service.
A requester shall typically be required to pay in advance for the actual cost to provide a copy of public records. The requester may choose whether to have the record duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium on which the public record is kept, or upon any other medium on which the office determines that the record can reasonably be duplicated as an integral part of the office’s normal operations.
If a requester asks that documents be delivered, he or she may be charged the actual cost of the postage and mailing supplies, or other actual costs of delivery, including, but not limited to, the use of overnight courier services such as Federal Express or UPS. There is no charge for e-mailed documents. The Village will attempt to accommodate all requests for documents to be emailed whenever feasible.
MANAGING RECORDS
The Village’s records are subject to record retention schedules. Each Village office’s current schedules are available at the Village Municipal Building located at 5903 Hawthorne Avenue, a location readily available to the public as required by Ohio Revised Code § 149.43(B)(2). Record retention schedules may also be sent by email upon request.
CHANGES
This Public Records Policy supersedes all previous public records policies. Exceptions consistent with law are at the discretion of the Public Records Custodian. This Public Records Policy may be changed at any time by the Mayor, to the extent consistent with law.
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