CITY OF MONTROSE RECORDS MANAGEMENT MANUAL Chapter 9 External Request for Public Records All public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times according to the provisions of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), C.R.S §2472-201 thru 206), except as provided for in Section 24-72-203 of the Act, a copy of which is located at the end of this Manual, or as otherwise provided by law. All requests for records shall be submitted to the City Clerk, who is the custodian of the records, or to the City Clerk’s designee. All public records requests that may include information specified in Section B of this chapter shall be reviewed by the City Attorney prior to release of the records. A.

Procedure for Processing Requests 1.

A Request for Public Records Form must be completed for any public records requests that involve information that is not routinely prepared and approved for distribution to the public. All records requests should be specific as to the information desired so that the appropriate information can be supplied to the requestor while minimizing the administrative burden incurred by filling the request.

2.

If it is clear that the records requested do not contain information listed in Section B of this chapter, the following shall apply: a.

If records are readily accessible and exist in a form that is suitable to the needs of the requestor, they shall be presented for review or copied as requested. Fees will be applied as specified in Section C of this chapter.

b.

If the requested records exist but are in active use, in storage, or are not readily available at the time of the request, they shall be produced within a reasonable time i.e., three (3) working days or less. If extenuating circumstances exist, that timeframe may be

extended to no longer than seven (7) additional working days [2472-203(3)(b)]. Extenuating circumstances may include: 1)

Broadly stated requests that encompass all or substantially all of a large category of records, and the request is without sufficient specificity to allow the custodian reasonably to prepare or gather the records within the three-day period;

2)

Broadly stated requests that encompass all or substantially all of a large category of records, and the City is unable to prepare or gather the records with the three-day period, because the City must devote all or substantially all of its resources to meeting an impending deadline or is in a period of peak demand that is unique, or occurs less than monthly;

3)

Requests that involve such a large volume of records that the custodian cannot reasonably prepare or gather the records within the three-day period, without substantially interfering with the custodian’s obligation to perform his or her other public service responsibilities.

Fees for any records provided shall apply as specified in Section C of this chapter. 3.

If the records requested include information listed in Section B of this chapter, the following shall apply: a.

The requestor shall be notified that the request must first be be reviewed and approved by the City Attorney’s office.

b.

The Request for Public Records Form shall be forwarded to the City Attorney for review.

c.

Once the Request has been reviewed by the City Attorney, one of the following will take place: 1)

The request is approved without further City Attorney review of the records being forwarded to the requestor.

The City Clerk or designee notifies the requestor that the records are ready for inspection and/or collection. Copies are charged as specified in Section C.

4.

B.

2)

The request is approved but the City Attorney requests that the records be reviewed by his office prior to release to the requestor. Documents that the City Attorney determines are inappropriate for disclosure are withheld from the requestor.

3)

The Request is denied, and the Requestor is notified of the denial and the reasons for such. The reasons for denial of the request are provided in writing, if requested.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data may be requested and provided as outlined in Chapter 3 of the City Regulations Manual.

Possible Grounds for Denial of Request The City of Montrose shall deny any person the right to inspect the following types of records: 1.

Police Department records. [24-72-204(2)(a)(I)]

2.

Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data relative to the administering of licensing examinations or employment examinations. [24-72-204(2)(a)(II)]

3.

Specific details of research projects. [24-72-204(2)(a)(III)]

4.

Medical, mental health, sociological or scholastic achievement data on individual persons. [24-72-204(3)(a)(I)]

5.

Personnel files. [24-72-204(3)(a)(II)(A)]

6.

Letters of reference. [24-72-204(3)(a)(III)]

7.

Trade Secrets, privileged information, and confidential commercial, financial, geological or geophysical data. [24-72-204(3)(a)(IV)]

8.

Addresses, telephone numbers, and personal financial information of past or present users of public utilities, public facilities, or recreational or cultural services. [24-72-204(3)(a)(IX)]

9.

Any records of sexual harassment complaints and investigations. [24-72204(3)(a)(X)]

10.

Records protected under the common law governmental or “deliberative process” privilege, if the material is likely to stifle honest and frank discussion within the government.

11.

Any record that would cause substantial injury to the public if disclosed. [24-72-204(3)(a)(XIII)]

12.

Any other record type not specifically listed that has been deemed confidential by the City of Montrose.

13.

Any other records that are required by law to be withheld.

For a complete listing, please see Section 24-702-204 of the Colorado Revised Statutes located at the end of this Manual. C.

Fees 1.

Paper copies - $.25 per page plus tax, unless the actual costs exceed that amount.

2.

Copies of records on media types other than paper - $25.00 per disk/CDROM/tape, etc., plus tax.

3.

Persons making subsequent requests for the same or similar records may be charged a fee not in excess of the original fee.

4.

A reasonable fee will be charged for labor and resources required to respond to requests that require manipulation of data so as to generate a record in a form not used by the City. Reasonable fees will also be

charged for requests that demand significant research and retrieval effort. This fee, additional to the cost of copies, will be calculated at $30.00 per hour after the first hour of time has been expended at no charge. 5.

A fee may be charged for records produced from electronic systems (other than word processing) based on recovery of the actual incremental costs of providing the electronic services and products together with a reasonable portion of the costs associated with building and maintaining the information system.

6.

In instances where legal review exceeds 15 minutes, a legal review charge may be assessed to partially defray the cost of time in excess of the first quarter hour. The hourly rate will be billed at $100.00 per hour, in quarter hour increments. The requesting party will be notified prior to this fee being assessed.

7.

Fees may be waived or reduced for records or information provided for a public purpose. Any fee reductions or waivers shall be uniformly applied among persons who are similarly situated.