POLICY 35: PUBLIC RECORDS

A.        Compliance

The District shall fully comply with the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 – 192.505.

1. Specificity of Request: In order to facilitate the public’s access to records in the District’s possession, and to avoid unnecessary expenditure of staff time, persons requesting access to public records for inspection or copying, or who submit written requests for copies of public records, shall specify the records requested with particularity, furnishing the dates, subject matter and such other detail as may be necessary to enable District personnel to readily locate the records sought.

2. Access: the District shall permit inspection and examination of its non-exempt public records during regular business hours in the District’s offices, or such other locations as the Board may reasonably designate from time to time. Copies of non-exempt public records maintained in machine readable or electronic form shall be furnished, if available, in the form requested. If not available in the form requested, such records shall be made available in the form in which they are maintained. ORS 192.440 (2).

3. Certified Copies: Certified copies of non-exempt public records shall be furnished upon request and receipt of payment therefore.

B.        Fees for public record

In order to recover its costs for responding to public records requests, the following fee schedule is adopted by the District:

1. Copies of Public Records; Certified Copies: The cost for copies of public records shall be in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the Board of Directors.

2. Research Fees: If a request for records requires District personnel to spend more than15 minutes searching or reviewing records prior to their review or release for copying, shall be billed in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the Board of Directors. The District shall estimate the total amount of time required to respond to the records request, and the person making the request shall make payment for the estimated cost of the search and copying of the records in advance. If the actual time and costs are less than estimated, the excess money shall be refunded to the person requesting the records. If the actual costs and time are in excess of the estimated time, the difference shall be paid by the person requesting the records at the time the records are produced.

3. Additional Charges: If a request is of such magnitude and nature that compliance would disrupt the District’s normal operation, the District may impose such additional charges  as are necessary to reimburse the District for its actual costs of producing the records.

4. Reduced Fee or Free Copies: Whenever it determines that furnishing copies of public records in its possession at a reduced fee or without costs would be in the public interest, the Board may so authorize. ORS 192.440 (4).