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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd1991-642 . . . sponsored by: Schaefermever CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, REVISING CHAPTER 2.05, RECORDS, REGARDING PUBLIC ACCESS TO MUNICIPAL RECORDS WHEREAS, recent rulings by the Alaska Supreme Court have interpreted and applied state and local statutes relating to public access to government information; and WHEREAS, public access to government information is one important method of maintaining citizen control of government; and WHEREAS, balance must be struck between the public interest in disclosure on the one hand and the privacy and reputational interests of the affected individuals together with the government's interest in confidentiality, on the other; and WHEREAS, recent state legislation and court rulings have given municipalities additional direction in identifying those records that should be available for public disclosure and those which should be kept confidential in order to protect the individual's right to privacy; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA HEREBY ORDAINS that: section 1. section 2.05.015 of the Seward City Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 2.05.015 Access and inspection of records. A. Public records may be inspected at the city office where the records are kept during the regular office hours of that particular office. All city officers and employees shall, consistent with the orderly conduct of city business, make a good faith and diligent effort to respond to requests for inspection of records made pursuant to this code. B. Except as other wise provided in this section, the fee for copying public records may not exceed the standard unit cost of duplication established by the city and shall be set by city council resolution. The resolution may also contain a separate fee schedule for providing electronically generated public records, to be -1- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 based on recovery of the actual incremental costs of providing the electronic record. C. If the production of records for one requester or agent of a requester in a calendar month exceeds five person-hours, the city shall require the requester to pay the personnel costs required during the month to complete the search and copying tasks. The personnel costs may not exceed the actual salary and benefit costs for the personnel time required to perform the search and copying tasks. The requester shall pay the fee before the records are disclosed, and the city may require payment in advance of the search. D. The city may reduce or waive a fee if the city determines that the reduction or waiver is in the public interest. Fee reductions and waivers shall be uniformly applied among persons who are similarly situated. The city may waive a fee of five dollars ($5.00) or less if the fee is less than the cost to the city to arrange payment. section 2. section 2.05.020 of the Seward City code is hereby amended to read as follows: 2.05.020 certified copies. The city clerk shall give, on request and payment of costs, a certified copy of any public record required to be disclosed under this code. A fee may be charged for certified copies, reflective of the actual costs involved in providing the certification, to be set by city council resolution. section 3. section 2.05.027 of the Seward City code is hereby created to read as follows: 2.05.027 Personal and proprietarv records available for public disclosure. A. If the city official who is the custodian of a record that is subject to public disclosure considers all or a portion of the information requested to be of a sensitive personal or proprietary nature, he may attempt to notify any party who is the subject of the record or may be concerned with its pending release. Failure to notify shall not be grounds for action against the city or its employees. B. If an objection to release of the record is filed, the city shall delay release of the record for five working days in order to provide time for the -2- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 objecting party to seek appropriate restrictions on release of any portions of the record. section 4. section 2.05.030 of the Seward City Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 2.05.030 Exemptions for particular records. A. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of the following records or information which, by law, are required to be confidential: 1. records of vital statistics and adoption proceedings; 2. records pertaining to juveniles; 3. health, mental health, medical, juvenile and personality problem information obtained or prepared by the city with respect to any person for whom treatment or services were provided; 4. records required to be kept confidential by a federal law or regulation or by state law; and 5. records required to be kept confidential under 20 U.S.C. 1232g and the regulations adopted thereunder in order to secure or retain federal assistance. B. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of the following business and proprietary records or information: 1. trade secrets, patented and/or copyrighted material; 2. records held by the city or any public utility pertaining to any client, customer, tenant, operator, user or subscriber, the release of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy of that person or entity; 3. records of engineering, marketing, accounting or other technical or financial data, which, if released, would provide a competitive advantage to any other persons or business engaged in similar or related activities; 4. proprietary information which a manufacturer, consultant or provider reasonably expects to be kept privileged or confidential to protect the property interests of persons providing the information or data; and 5. personal information other than name and address given to the city with the legitimate expectation of privacy in conjunction with licenses, permits or other municipal services. -3- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 C. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of the following law enforcement records or information: 1. records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the products of the law enforcement records or information a. could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings: b. would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication: c. could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of a suspect, defendant, victim or witness: d. could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source: e. would disclose confidential techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions: f. would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if the disclosure could be expected to risk circumvention of the law: or g. could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of an individual: 2. name, address, telephone number or other identifying information about complainants in actions to enforce building, zoning, environmental or other municipal ordinances or regulations. This subsection does not protect from disclosure the contents of the complaint, so long as the complainant is not identifiable: or, the name of the complainant when such disclosure becomes necessary to fair and just disposition of the charge or complaint in enforcement proceedings. D. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of the following personnel records or information: 1. city personnel records, including employment applications and examination materials: payroll and medical records which reveal the financial or medical status of any specific individual and, in addition, those records the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy. This subsection does not protect from disclosure the following personnel information: a. employment applications and examination materials of city officials appointed by the city council: -4- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 b. city employees; c. d. the names and position titles of all the position held by a city employee; prior positions held by a city employee; e. whether a city employee is in a collective bargaining unit; f. the dates of appointment and separation of a city employee; and g. the compensation authorized for a city employee. A city employee has the right to examine the employee's own personnel files and may authorize others to examine those files. 2. information which municipal governments engaged in collective bargaining regularly consider to be privileged or confidential for purposes of successful collective bargaining. E. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of the following privileged records or information: 1. communications between any agency and the city attorney which contain legal questions concerning potential, pending or actual litigation. This subsection does not protect from disclosure documents which were public records prior to the commencement of the litigation, and public records which are otherwise subject to disclosure may not be protected from disclosure by mere submission to the attorney. Any documents marked "confidential" which are submitted to the agency from the municipal attorney's office shall only be produced if the city attorney so authorizes. with respect to a person involved in litigation, the records sought shall be disclosed in accordance with applicable court rules; and 2. information obtained by and in the custody of insurance carriers insuring the city and their attorneys and agents regarding possible and pending claims against the city. F. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of records or information reflecting advice, opinions or recommendations in discussions or deliberations among city officials serving in a policy- making capacity and those who assist them in formulating policy and in the decision-making process. As used in this subsection, "city officials serving in a policy- making capacity" is defined as an appointed city official -5- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 or employee exempt from overtime compensation pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. 1. In order for a record to be classified as privileged under this subsection, the author shall submit the original document to the city clerk, who shall conduct an independent review of the document and determine whether the content is of such a sensitive nature as to warrant its classification as exempt from public disclosure. Documents authored by the city clerk shall be submitted to the city attorney for conduct of the review provided herein. When possible, the author should submit the record at the time it is created and prior to its distribution. 2. If the reviewer determines that the record should be exempt from public disclosure, he shall so stamp "executive privilege" on each page of the document and return it to the author. G. This chapter shall not be construed to require disclosure of records or information specifically prepared for or produced during a legally convened executive session; provided, however, that public records which are otherwise subj ect to disclosure may not be protected from disclosure by mere submission during an executive session. section 5. Section 2.05.032 of the Seward City Code is hereby created to read as follows: 2.05.032 Filinq of exemot records. City records classified as exempt from public disclosure under section 2.05.030 shall be maintained in files providing a physical separation from general city records subject to public review. section 6. section 2.05.035 of the Seward City Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 2.05.035 Denial of request; aooeal. A. If the city official who is the custodian of a record considers the information requested to be privileged or confidential pursuant to applicable federal, state or city law, within ten working days of receiving the request he shall prepare and provide the party requesting the information a written statement setting forth the following information: 1. 2. date; item of information requested; -6- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 3. the specific provision of applicable state, federal or city law exempting the requested information from disclosure; 4. the title and signature of the person withholding the information; and 5. the right of the requester to appeal the decision pursuant to subsection B. herein. B. In the event a party is denied access to requested information under the provisions of subsection A. of this section, he may submit a written appeal to the city manager. Within ten working days of receiving the appeal, the city manager shall issue a written response to the requester, either granting or denying the appeal and notifying the requester of his right to appeal the decision to the city council at the next regularly scheduled meeting occurring at least fifteen days following the date of the appeal, which shall be the final and binding authority. Section 7. Section 2.05.037 of the Seward City Code is hereby created to read as follows: 2.05.037 Notice reqardinq personal information. A. When the city requests personal information that may be included in a public record directly from the person who is the subject of the information, the city shall give the person a written notice at the time of the request that states: 1. the name and address of the city department; 2. the citation of the statute or regulation that authorizes the city to request the information; 3. a statement indicating whether the person is required to supply the information; 4. the consequences to the person, if any, of not providing all or part of the requested information; 5. a statement of the city's anticipated uses of the information, including the city's internal uses of the information and disclosure of the information to other city departments; 6. the fact that the information may be subject to inspection and copying under Seward City Code Chapter 2.05; and 7. a statement summarizing how a person may challenge under Section 2.05.038 the accuracy or completeness of personal information maintained by the city. -7- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, AIASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 B. This section does not apply to a request for information on a person if: 1. the request is made by a police officer~ 2. the person is a city employee: 3. the information is related to litigation~ 4. the information is being collected by the city when investigating a possible violation of law~ or 5. the information is exempt from inspection and copying under section 2.05.030. section 8. section 2.05.038 of the Seward City Code is hereby created to read as follows: 2.05.038 Challenqinq accuracv of personal information. A. A person who is the subject of personal information that is maintained by the city and not exempt from public disclosure under Section 2.05.030 may challenge the accuracy or completeness of the personal information. B. To challenge the accuracy or completeness of personal information under subsection A. of this section, the person must file with the city a written request that the personal information be changed. The request must provide: 1. a description of the challenged personal information~ 2. the changes necessary to make the personal information accurate or complete~ and 3 . the person's name and the address where the city may contact the person. C. within thirty days after recelvlng a written request made under subsection B. of this section, the city may request verification of the disputed personal information from the person who made the request. D. Within thirty days after receiving the written request under subsection B. of this section, or the verification under subsection C. of this section, the city shall review the request and: 1. change the personal information according to the request and notify the person in writing of the change~ or 2. deny the request and notify the person in writing of the reasons for the decision and the name, title, and business address of the person who denied the request. -8- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 E. If a request is denied under subsection D. of this section, the person may provide to the city a concise written statement that states the person's reasons for disagreeing with the decision. The city shall maintain in its records the request made under subsection B. of this section and the statement provided by the person under this subsection. On all of the city's records that contain the disputed information, the city shall clearly note which portions of the records are disputed. If the record is in electronic form, the city may note the dispute in one field of the electronic form and maintain the other information about the dispute in paper form. F. This section does not apply to criminal intelligence or criminal investigative records, city personnel or retirement system records, records of applicants for employment with the city or information in documents recorded under AS 40.17. section 9. This ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days following its enactment. ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, this 22nd day of April, 1991. THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ~fyJ~ David L. Hilton, Sr., Mayor AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Krasnansky, Meehan, Sieminski, simutis and Hilton Burgess and Dunham None None ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: PERKINS COIE, Attorneys for the City of Seward, Alaska 7~ML Fred B. Arvidson City Attorney (City Seal) -9- . . . CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA ORDINANCE NO. 642 Introduced By: Hilton and Meehan Introduction Date: 12-10-90 Public Hearings: 01-14-91 & 03-25-91 Enactment Date: 04-22-91 Motion to Reconsider: 04-22-91 Vote on Reconsideration: 05-13-91 Councilmember Krasnansky made the motion to reconsider. Vote to reconsider FAILED at 05/13/91 Council meeting. Ordinance took effect immediately. NOTE: -10-