RIGHT TO KNOW POLICY / OPEN RECORDS 

Effective Date:
05/14/2018

Policy Statement 
 
On February 14, 2008, Act 3 of 2008 was passed into law amending the Pennsylvania Right To Know Law (65 P.S. §67.101 et seq.).  The Act governs the rights of the public to inspect and obtain copies of public records.   Mifflin County Airport Authority (the  “Airport”) recognizes the value of  the public’s right to information and is committed to continually improving public access to information and fostering public participation in the decision-making process. The effective date of the Act is January 1, 2009. 
 
Definitions
 
A Public Record is defines Pursuant to 65 P.S.§67.101as “a record, including a financial record, of a Commonwealth or local agency that:

• Is not exempt under section 708;
• Is not exempt from being disclosed under any other Federal or State law or regulation or judicial order or decree; or
• Is not protected by a privilege.”

 
Authority
 
All such activity shall be in accordance with Mifflin County Airport Authority Policy.
 
Delegation of Authority
 
The Mifflin County Airport Authority delegates to the Airport Manager or designee to comply with requests for information.
 
Policy Interpretation and Implementation:
 

1. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC RECORDS

All Right-To-Know Law requests must be in writing and must be received by the Open Records Officer of the Airport.  The contact information for the Airport’s Open Records Officer is attached as Appendix A.
 
Written request must include:

• Name of person requesting the records.
• Mailing address to which a written reply and/or the requested information can be sent.
• Identify or describe the specific records being sought.  The request must be sufficiently specific to enable the Airport to ascertain with records are being requested, and include the date of the information requested as well as type of information.
• The written request does not need to include an explanation of the requestor’s reason for the request or the requestor’s intended use of the record(s).
• An agreement to reimburse the cost of reproducing the records requested.

 
See Appendix B for sample request form.
 
The Airport will not grant anonymous requests.
 

1. REQUEST FOR INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS

To inspect requested records, an appointment with the Open Records Officer should be made by the requestor.  Public records are open to inspection and for duplication during normal office hours, 8:00am to 4:00pm (local time) Monday through Friday, except holiday, subject to the regulations set forth herein.  When requestor arrives to review the records, the person will be asked to present positive identification. 
 
No records may be removed from the Airport offices.
 

1. OPERATING PROCEDURES

Within five business days of receipt of written request:

• The Open Records Officer will record the request in a logbook, compute the date for response (five business days from the receipt of the request), make a copy of the request and create a file for the request and subsequent correspondence.
• The Open Records Officer will do a thorough search for the requested records.
• The Open Records Officer shall review, sign, mail and log the response to the requestor.  A response must be sent within five business days of receiving any written request.  The response may be one of the following:
  • The requested records will be provided. The response will also include appropriate information about how and when the requestor can visit the Airport to view and duplicate the requested records.
  • The request may be denied.  If a request is denied in whole or in part, the denial will contain a description of the records requested, the reasons for the denial, including citation of supporting legal authority, the name, title, business address, business telephone number, and signature of the person on whose authority the denial is issued, a date of the response, and the procedure to appeal the denial of access under the Right To Know Law.
  • The response may be a statement that the Airport needs additional time (not to exceed thirty days) to respond if on or more of the following reasons apply:
    1. The requested records require redaction (blacking out of sections of the records that are not public).
    2. The requested record requires retrieval from remote location.
    3. The requested records require legal review.
    4. The requestor has not complied with the Airport’s Policy.
    5. A timely response cannot be made due to staffing limitations.
    6. The requestor refuses to pay the applicable fees set forth by this Policy.
  • The response shall include any applicable fees; in the case of an extension, estimated applicable fees shall be included.

 
After the Open Records, Officer responds that some or all of the records requested are available:

• The Open Records Officer will provide access to the records as arranged with the requestor.
• If the records are electronic, the Open Records Officer may convert the electronic records to paper form if requested by the requestor.
• If the Airport will make copies, and if copying costs are expected to exceed $100.00, the Open Records Officer will collect a deposit equal to the lesser of $100.00 or 25% of the estimated cost or reproduction the records before copying and log payment upon receipt.  Upon delivery of copies, the Open Records Officer will collect any unpaid fees and log payment upon receipt.

 

1. APPEAL OF DENIAL

If a requestor wishes to dispute a denial by the Airport, the requestor must file a written appeal with the Office of Open Records which shall include the reasons why the requestor believes the records requested are subject to disclosure and the Airport’s reasons for denial of the request. The appeal shall be sent to:
 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Office of Open Records
Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street, Plaza Level
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225
 
The appeal must be mailed to the Office of Open Records within fifteen business days of the mailing date indicated on the Airport’s response.
 
An Appeals officer appointed by the Office of Open Records shall review the appeal and set a schedule for the requestor and the Airport to submit records in support of the position.  The Appeals Officer may elect to hold a hearing.  The Appeals Officer will make a final decision within thirty days of the date the appeal is received.  If a party disagrees with the determination of the Appeals Officer, that party may file a petition for review with the Mifflin County Court of Common Pleas.  
 

1. SCHEDULE OF FEES

A schedule of fees is attached as Appendix C
 
 
NOTE: The Airport will disclose identifiable and existing public records but is not required to synthesize, compile, maintain, format, or organize records in response to a request.

APPENDIX A
 
Open Records Office
 
Name:  Larry McCarl, Manage
 
Address: 547 Airport Road, PO Box 461, Reedsville, PA 17084
 
Phone: 717-667-6829
 
FAX:  717-667-2904
 
E-mail:  [email protected]
 

APPENDIX B
 
     RIGHT TO KNOW REQUEST FORM
 
DATE REQUESTED: ___________________
 
NAME OF REQUESTOR: ________________________________________________
 
STREET ADDRESS: ____________________________________________________
 
CITY, STATE ZIP: ______________________________________________________
 
TELEPHONE (OPTIONAL): ______________________________________________
 
RECORDS REQUESTED: 
Provide as much detail as possible so the Airport can identify the information.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DO YOU WANT PAPER COPIES? Yes  No
 
DO YOU WANT TO INSPECT THE RECORDS?  Yes  No
 
DO YOU WANT CERTIFIED COPIES OF RECORDS?  Yes  No
 
 
 
 

 

APPENDIX C
 
SCHEDULE OF FEES
 
Copies – a photocopy is either a single-sided copy of one side of a double-sided black and white copy of a standard 8.5” x 11” page
 
$0.25 per page

Certification of a Record (per record, not per page) Please note certification fees do not include notarization fees.
 
$1.00 per record

Specialized document such as, but not limited to, blue prints, color copies, non-standard sized document
 
Actual Cost

Facsimile/Microfiche/Other Media 
Actual Cost

Redaction Fee 
No redaction fee may be imposed

Conversion to Paper
If a record is only maintained electronically or in other non-paper media, duplication fees shall be limited to the lesser of the fee for duplication on paper or the fee for duplication in the original media unless the requestor specifically requests for the record to be duplicated in the more expensive medium (Sec 1307(e)).

Postage Fees 
Fees for postage may not exceed the actual cost of mailing.