Replaces:
Date Issued: May 26, 1998
Revised: January 24, 2007
Date Effective: January 24, 2007
BACKGROUND:
The Act at section 24-72-202 (6)(a)(1) defines public records as “all writings
made, maintained, or kept by the
state, any agency, institution, a
non-profit corporation incorporated pursuant to Section 23-5-131 (2), C.R.S.,
or political
subdivision of the state, or that described in section 29-1-902-, C.R.S., and
held by any local government-financed entity for the use in the exercise of
functions required or authorized by law or administrative rule or involving
the receipt
or expenditure of public funds.”
Additionally, the Act at section 24-72-202(7) defines writing to include “all
books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, or other
documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics.
Writings include digitally stored data, including with limitation, electronic
mail messages, but does not include computer software.
“Public Records” do not include certain
records, including but not limited to,
Criminal justice records or work product prepared by elected officials.
However elected officials may release all of, or any part of work product
prepared for them. Section 24-72-202 (6)(b), C.R.S.
The Act allows the official custodian of public records to make such
rules with reference to the inspection of such records as reasonably necessary to protect such records and to the prevention of unnecessary interference with the regular duties of the clerk. The official custodian may also charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed $1.25 per page unless actual cost are high, for copies of public records.
POLICY:
It shall be
the policy of the
(hereinafter, “E9-1-1”) to make all records available for public inspection
unless such records are protected from disclosure by federal or state statute,
by court order, or unless disclosure of such records would be contrary to the
public interest. Thus, records, including work products of Board members and
staff, those kept in miniaturized or digital form whether magnetic or optical
disks, tapes, microfilm, microfiche, and electronic mail are potentially subject
to public disclosure.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to assure prompt and equitable service to
citizens requesting access to public records, including those records
created by electronic mail, in accordance with the requirements of the
Colorado Public (Open) Records Act (hereinafter, “Act”) sections 24-72-
201 to 206 Vol. 7 C.R.S (1997).
PROCEDURE
All requests for public records shall be made in writing and lodged with the
official custodian of public records maintaining such records. Many of these
requests can be filled immediately; however, if the public records are in active
use, in storage, or otherwise not readily available at the time that the request
is made, the custodian shall set a date at which time the records can be
inspected within three (3) working days of the date the request was made.
Such period may be extended if extenuating circumstances exist (section
24-72-203(3)(b), but the extension period shall not exceed seven (7) days
from the date the request was made. Extenuating circumstances cannot
apply to a request that relates to a single, specifically identified document.
Electronic
records and electronic communications:
Records stored on magnetic or optical disk, on tapes, microfilm or microfiche
are considered public records and open to disclosure. After receiving a written
request for records stored in any of the aforementioned media, system
management staff may take any measures necessary to assist the public in
locating any specific public records, including but not limited to, the availability
of viewing stations for microfilm, and microfiche, and provision of portable disk
copies or computer files, or direct electronic access via online bulletin boards
or other means.
Fees and
charges:
The official records
custodian for E9-1-1 will charge for any copies, printouts,
or photographs requested. A fee will also be charged for the manipulation of
data in order to generate a record in the form not used by E9-1-1, and this fee
shall not exceed the actual cost of manipulating said data and generating the
record. Persons making subsequent request for the same record shall be
charged the same fee.
Additionally, E9-1-1 will charge a fee when the public record is the result of
computer output rather than word processing. The E9-1-1 records custodian
will respond to requests for access to public records stored electronically and
in computer database by providing, upon request, a copy, disk, or printout, and
not by allowing access to a computer terminal or the use of a private terminal.
The
exception is any public information provided by the
County Enhanced E9-1-1 Authority Board on the Internet. This fee will be
based on recovery of the actual incremental costs of providing the electronic
services and products together with a reasonable portion of the cost
associated with building and maintaining the information system. Such
fee may be waived by the official custodian if the electronic services and
products are to be used for a public purpose.
PUBLIC RECORDS STANDARD FEES AND CHARGES
Photocopies 0.50 cents per page
FAX copies 0.50 cents per page
actual telephone
toll charges, if any
Duplication of audio tapes 5.00 dollars per tape
NOTE: A deposit, equal to the cost of duplicating one tape, is required at the time
the request is made. This deposit is applicable to the total costs of duplication.
Verbatim transcripts of proceedings Actual cost
Transcription Actual fee for
Service
Document certification 1.00 dollar per document
Research and retrieval The El Paso – Teller County
Authority Board shall charge
for the actual time spent, in
excess of one-half hour, based
on the hourly rate of the least
technically trained person
capable of performing the
search.
Occasionally, a request for public records will involve the need to perform the
research. While the
obligation to provide public records and information, it cannot effectively serve
as a research service for citizens without affecting its ability to provide normal
and usual
services. Therefore,
Board may charge for this research, which will be the hourly rate of the least
technically trained person required to accomplish this task.
The
requests from member agencies or other governmental agencies.
Denial of Inspection:
Access to public records may be denied in accordance with the provisions of
The Act. If the official custodian finds that, under the provisions of the Act, a
particular record cannot or should not be released, the custodian should
promptly notify the applicant. Upon the applicant’s request, the custodian
shall state the basis for denial in writing.