PA Right To Know Law

PA RIGHT TO KNOW LAW


Open Records Officeropenrecordsicon

Township Manager/Treasurer Teri Lewis functions as our township's Open Records Officer. The Open Records Officer may be reached at 589 Lake Warren Road, Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972, phone (610) 847-5058, fax (610) 847-5812, or e-mail at .

General

All documents deemed public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the Municipal Building during established business hours 9:00 am - 4:30 pm 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. Make sure when you file a RTK request, you are seeking records and not just asking questions. The law governs the release of records, not answering questions.

Download the Right To Know Request Form.

Fees

The fee for a standard 8.5" x 11" black and white document is up to 25 cents per page. See the RTKL Fee Structure for more details.

  • Postage fees may not exceed the actual cost of mailing.
  • If an Agency offers enhanced electronic access it can establish user fees that must be approved by the Office of Open Records.
  • An Agency cannot charge for the time it takes to redact a document or the legal review needed to determine if a document is a public record.
  • An Agency may require pre-payment if the fees are expected to exceed $100.
  • An Agency may withhold public records if you have not paid for previous requested records.

Response

The Township has five business days to respond in writing to: (1) grant the request; (2) deny the request, citing the legal basis for the denial or partial denial; or (3) invoke a 30-calendar day extension for certain reasons.

The clock starts the day after the RTK request is received during regular business hours. In other words, an agency has five business days to respond to a request, whether you place the request in person or by mail.

Acceptable grounds for a 30-calendar day extension include: off-site location of records, staffing limitations, need for legal review or redaction, complex request, or the requester did not pay applicable fees as required or failed to follow agency policy.

If an agency does not respond to a request in the allotted time, the request is deemed denied, and you have the right to file an appeal with the Office of Open Records.

Contact Information for Appeals

If a written request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal in writing to Office of Open Records, 333 Market Street, 16th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333.

Appeals Process

The appeal shall be filed within 15 business days of the mailing date of the townships response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial. The appeal shall state the grounds upon which the requester asserts the records is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the township for delaying or denying the request.