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South Strabane Township
Open Records Policy
Open Record Officer
The Township hereby designates John J. Stickle, Township Manager, as the Township Open Records Officer.
The Open Records Officer may be reached at: South Strabane Township, 550 Washington Road, Washington, PA 15301; phone: 724-225-9055; fax: 724-225-2035.
General
All documents deemed public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval and duplication at the Municipal Building during established business hours (8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.) 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. (Click Here to see attached form).
Fees
Paper copies shall be 10 cents per page per side. The certification of a record is $1 per record. Specialized documents including, but not limited to blueprints, 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 of criminal records shall be made to the District Attorney of Washington County: Steven Toprani, District Attorney, Office of the District Attorney, 1 South Main Street, Suite 1003, Washington, PA 15301. Telephone number: 724-228-6790.
Open Records Policy
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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 record is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the Township for delaying or denying the request.
RESOLVED AND ENACTED this 10th day of February 2009 by the South Strabane Township Board of Supervisors.
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