Open Records Policy and Procedure
The Palmer Township Stormwater Authority (the “Authority”) adopts this policy pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101 - 67.3104. The Authority 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 Authority hereby designates Matthew Gunther as the Authority's Open Records Officer. The Open Records Officer may be reached at 3 Weller Place, Palmer, PA 18045, 610-253-7191, and StormwaterRTKL@palmertwp.com
General
Public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the Authority’s office during normal business hours, with the exception of Authority-designated holidays.
Requests
Requests shall be made in writing to the Authority's Open Records Officer on the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records’ Standard Right-to-Know Request Form, which is available on the Authority's website at https://www.palmertwp.com/ptsa-rtk.html . Anonymous or verbal requests will not be considered.
Fees
Paper copies shall be $.25 per page per side for black and white copies up to the first 1,000 pages and $.20 beyond 1,000 pages and $.50 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 RTKL’s five business day timeframe. If the Open Records Officer cannot do so 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 reasons 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 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 Northampton County, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042.
Appeals Process
Appeals must be filed within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Authority’s response. Please note that a copy of the requester’s original request and the Authority’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 Authority stated in its denial letter. Visit the OOR's website at www.openrecords.pa.gov for additional information on filing an appeal.
Download the Standard Right-to-Know Request Form.
