Ordinance 1720

 

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF GOODLAND, KANSAS:

 

SECTION 1. There is hereby created a new Article XI “Public Records” within Chapter 1 “Administration” of the Goodland Municipal Code which shall read as follows:

 

ARTICLE XI – PUBLIC RECORDS.

 

Sec. 1-1101.           Procedures regarding both inspection and copying of open public records.

 

The following procedures are hereby adopted and shall be applied by each official custodian and record custodian:

 

• Consistent with the policy, duties and procedures established by the State of Kansas in K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., all City record custodians shall provide full access and assistance in a timely and efficient manner to persons who request access to public records.

 

• Record custodians shall adopt and apply open public record access and copy procedures consistent with the policies of the City and with the provisions of the Open Records Act. Specifically, such procedures will inform members of the public of the procedures to be followed in making a request for inspection or copy of an open public record, including the hours during which record inspection or copy request may be made; who a request is to be made to; the forms to be completed in making a request; and the schedule of fees charged.

 

• Record custodians shall adopt and apply procedures which will ensure the protection and preservation of public records with respect to the manner in which such records are inspected and copied.

 

• Record custodians shall take necessary measures, consistent with their duties to ensure that the essential functions of the custodian’s office, department or agency, is not disrupted by requests for record inspection and copying.

 

• All inspections and copying of open public records shall be performed by, or under the supervision of, the record custodian responsible for such records.

 

• Mechanical reproduction of a record shall not be undertaken when it is the judgment of the record custodian that any available means of mechanically reproducing the subject record is likely to cause damage to the record.

 

• All persons requesting the inspection of or a copy of open public records shall make such request in writing which reasonably describes the record sought prior to the request being honored.  In instances where the requestor cannot provide sufficient information to identify a record, the custodian shall assist in making such identification.  No form shall be required for requests made for records which have been reproduced for free public distribution.

 

• In cases where a request for a specific record gives the record custodian reason to believe that the record contains information of a personal nature which, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, the record custodian shall inform the requester that a 72-hour waiting period must run before such record may be inspected.  During that 72-hour period, the record custodian shall make every reasonable effort to determine the identity of those persons whose privacy interest may be so affected by disclosure.  The record custodian shall attempt to contact such persons and ascertain whether they, or any of them, will seek a court order challenging disclosure.  If so, the record custodian shall deny inspection pending the outcome of litigation or an intervening court order.

 

• The record custodian may demand reasonable identification of any person requesting a record.

 

• Any fees for record inspection or for copies are due at the time the records or copies thereof, are provided to the requester, unless the record custodian has demanded that prepayment of all or part of such fees be made.  Fees are to be paid to the record custodian.

 

• The record custodian shall notify the record requester, prior to commencing search of the record or copies thereof, of his or her estimate of the fee which will be made for honoring the request whenever such estimate exceeds $10.00.

 

• The record custodian shall determine and assess a charge covering mailing and handling costs accrued in responding to requests through the mail service.

 

• The record custodian may exercise his or her discretion to reduce or waive any inspection or copying fees when such is in the public interest.

 

• No record inspection or copying charge shall be assessed against officers or employees of the City who make requests which are reasonably necessary to the performance of their official duties

 

• No inspection fee shall be charged the requester if the actual cost of locating the records pursuant to one request is less than $10.00 or, in the case of multiple requests brought by the same person or on behalf of the same person, where the actual cost of locating the records pursuant to requests made over a 24-hour period is less than $10.00.

 

• No inspection fee will be assessed when a denial of a request is made.  The record custodian shall, upon making a denial of an inspection request, forward a copy of the denial to the City Attorney.

 

• Hours for making requests for inspection or copying shall be all regular working hours for each day the office maintains regular office hours.  If an office keeping or maintaining public records does not have regular office hours Monday through Friday, the official custodian for such office shall establish hours for each such day when no regular office hours are kept, at which time members of the public may make requests for record inspection or copies of records.

 

• Removal of open public records from the office where kept and maintained, for purposes of inspection and/ or the making of copies shall be permitted only with the written permission of the record custodian. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to return such records at the time and place where such return has been promised. Upon conviction for violation of this subsection a person may be fined up to $50.00 or sentenced to five days in the Sherman County Jail, or be both so fined and imprisoned.

 

• The above procedures, as well as, any other inspection and copying procedures shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the office of the record custodian.

 

 

Sec. 1-1102.           Inspection fee.

 

• Where request has been made for inspection of any open public record which is readily available to the record custodian there shall be no inspection fee charged to the requester.

 

• If a request takes longer than fifteen minutes to complete, time to complete the request will also be charged at the wage rate of the employee(s) completing the request.

 

Sec. 1-1103.           Copying fee.

 

• A fee of 25 cents for each 8½” x 11” copy and 50 cents for each 11 x 17” copy shall be charged for photocopying public records, such fee to cover the cost of labor, materials, and equipment.  When it is necessary for the information to be mailed, there shall be an additional charge assessed to cover postage and handling.

 

• For copying any public records which cannot be reproduced by the City’s photocopying equipment, the requester shall be charged the actual cost to the City, including staff time, in reproducing such records.

 

• Other costs are as follows:

(1)  Records copied to computer disks

(CD/DVD)                              $25.00

(2)  Police Department documents

Accident Reports                    $10.00

Accident Report Photos          $25.00

Offense Reports                      $10.00

Call for Service Records         $10.00

 

Sec. 1-1104.           Prepayment of fees.

 

• A record custodian may demand prepayment of the fees established by this Ordinance whenever he or she believes this to be in the best interest of the City.  The prepayment amount shall be an estimate of the inspection and/or copying charges accrued in fulfilling the record request.  Any overage or underage in the prepayment shall be settled prior to inspection of the requested record or delivery of the requested copies.

 

• Prepayment of inspection and/or copying fees shall be required whenever, in the best estimate of the record custodian, such fees are estimated to exceed $10.00.

 

• Where prepayment has been demanded by the record custodian, no record shall be made available to the requester until such prepayment has been made.

 

Sec. 1-1105.           Appointment of official custodians.

 

The following city officers are hereby appointed as official custodians for purposes of the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., and are hereby charged with responsibility for compliance with that Act with respect to the hereinafter listed public records:

 

City Clerk: All public records kept and maintained in the City Clerk’s office and all other public records not provided for elsewhere in this Section.

 

Chief of Police: All public records not on file in the office of the City Clerk and kept and maintained in the City Police Department.

 

Clerk of the Municipal Court: All public records not on file in the office of the City Clerk and kept and maintained in the Municipal Court.

 

Sec. 1-1106.           Designation of additional records custodians.

 

• Each of the official custodians appointed in Section 1 is hereby authorized to designate any subordinate officers or employees to serve as records custodian. Such records custodians shall have such duties and powers as are set out in KORA.

 

• Whenever an official custodian shall appoint another person as a records custodian he or she shall notify the City Clerk of such designation and the City Clerk shall maintain a register of all such designations.

 

Sec. 1-1107.           Duties of custodians.

 

All City officers and employees appointed or designated under this Resolution shall: protect public records from damage and disorganization; prevent excessive disruption of the essential functions of the City; provide assistance and information upon request; insure efficient and timely action and response to all application for inspection of public records; and shall carry out the procedures adopted by this City for inspecting and copying open public records.

 

Sec. 1-1108.           Requests to be directed to custodians.

 

• All members of the public, in seeking access to, or copies of, a public record in accordance with the provisions of KORA, shall address their requests to the custodian charged with responsibility for the maintenance of the record sought to be inspected or copied.

 

• Whenever any City officer or employee appointed or designated as a custodian under this Resolution is presented with a request for access to, or copy of, a public record which record the custodian does not have in his or her possession and for which he or she has not been given responsibility to keep and maintain, the custodian shall so advise the person requesting the record. Further, the person making the request shall be informed as to which custodian the request should be addressed to, if such is known by the custodian receiving the request.

 

Sec. 1-1109.           Appointment of local freedom of information officer; appointment and duties.

 

• The city clerk is hereby appointed as the local freedom of information officer and charged with all of the duties as set forth in Section 3.

 

• The local freedom of information officer shall:
  • prepare and provide educational materials and information concerning the Kansas Open Records Act;
  • be available to assist the city and members of the general public to resolve disputes relating the Kansas Open Records Act;
  • respond to inquiries relating to the Kansas Open Records Act;
  • establish the requirements for the content, size, shape and other physical characteristics of a brochure required to be displayed or distributed or otherwise made available to the public under the Kansas Open Records Act.  In establishing such requirements for the content of the brochure, the local freedom of information officer shall include plainly written basic information about the rights of a requester, the responsibilities of the city, and the procedures for inspecting and obtaining a copy of public records under the Act.

 

SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its publication in the official city newspaper.

 

PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7^th day of January, 2019 by the Governing Body of the City of Goodland, Kansas.

 

 

 

____________________________

Brian Linin, Mayor

ATTEST:

 

 

__________________________

Mary P. Volk, City Clerk