Right to Know Policy (RTKL) Open Records
Douglass Township Right-to-Know Law Policy
Douglass Township, Montgomery County, adopts this policy pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104. Douglass Township has made this policy available to the public at its office and on its public website along with the Office of Open Records Uniform Request Form.
Open Records Officer
The Township hereby designates Andrew Duncan, Township Manager, as the Township’s Open Records Officer. The Open Records Officer may be reached at 1320 E. Philadelphia Avenue, Gilbertsville, Pa. 19525, 610-367-6062, aduncan@douglasstownship.org.
The Township hereby designates the Assistant Township Manager as the Township’s alternate Open Records Officer. The alternate Open Records Officer may be reached at 1320 E. Philadelphia Avenue Gilbertsville, Pa. 19525, 610-367-6062.
General
Public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the Township office during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the exception of Township designated holidays.
Requests
Requests shall be made in writing to the Township’s Open Records Officer. Requests submitted on the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records’ Standard Right-to-Know Request Form will be accepted. Anonymous or verbal requests will not be considered or processed in accordance with the Right to Know Law.
Fees
Paper copies of responsive records shall be $.25 per page per side for black and white copies up to the first 1,000 pages and $.20 per page beyond 1,000 pages and $.50 per page for color copies. The certification of a record is $5 per record. Specialized documents, including but not limited to blueprints, color copies, and nonstandard-sized documents, shall be charged the actual cost of production. If mailing is requested, the cost of postage will be charged. All fees must be paid before documents will be released. Prepayment is required if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.
Response
The Open Records Officer shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible and within the five business day timeframe provided by statute. If the Open Records Officer cannot provide a substantive response within five business days, he/she is permitted to exercise a 30-day extension upon notifying the requester. The Open Records Officer shall cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original documents while taking reasonable measures to protect original documents from the possibility of theft, damage, and/or modification. If the request is denied, the Open Records Officer will send the requester a letter stating 1) a description of the record requested; 2) the specific reason(s) for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal authority; 3) contact information for the Open Records Officer; 4) the date of the response; and 5) the procedure to appeal the denial.
Contact Information for Appeals
If a written request is denied, the requester has the right to file an appeal in writing to the Executive Director, Office of Open Records, 333 Market St., 16th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101. Appeals of criminal records shall be made to the District Attorney of Montgomery County.
Appeals Process
Appeals must be filed within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township’s response. Please note that a copy of the requester’s original request and the Township’s denial letter must be included when filing an appeal. The law requires an appeal to include reasons why the record is a public record and to address the reasons for denial that the Township stated in its denial letter. Visit the OOR’s website at www.openrecords. pa.gov for additional information on filing an appeal.
About the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law - https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/rtkl/about.cfm
Pennsylvania Right to Know Law Citizens Guide - https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/CitizensGuide.cfm
Right to Know Law Enactment - https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/2008/0/0003..HTM
Right to Know Request Form - https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/rtkl/forms.cfm