Source: https://www.ecode360.com/32628063
Timestamp: 2020-08-15 03:09:59
Document Index: 319619175

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 19', '§ 3', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 19', '§ 19', '§ 103', '§ 134', '§ 905', '§ 16', '§ 3']

Village of Grafton, WI Maintenance and Access to Grafton Records
§ 3.32.010 Definitions.
§ 3.32.020 Duty to maintain records.
§ 3.32.030 Legal custodian(s).
§ 3.32.040 Public access to records.
§ 3.32.050 Access procedures.
§ 3.32.055 Employee records.
§ 3.32.060 Limitations on right to access.
§ 3.32.070 Preservation through microfilm.
Chapter 3.32 Maintenance and Access to Grafton Records
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Grafton by Ord. No. A-435-83, 1983 (Title 3, Ch. 3.32, of the 1979 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended by Ord. No. 006, Series 2004]
That officer, department head, division head, or employee of the Village designated under § 3.32.030 or otherwise responsible by law to keep and preserve any Village records on file, deposit or keep such records in his or her office, or is lawfully in possession or entitled to possession of such public records, and who is required by this chapter to respond to requests for access to such records.
Any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual, or electromagnetic or electronically generated or stored data is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is being kept by an authority. "Record" includes, but is not limited to, handwritten, typed or printed pages, maps, charts, photographs, films, recordings, tapes, optical disks, and any other medium on which electronically generated or stored data is recorded or preserved. E-mail relating to official business and maintained or kept on a computer, or in the possession of a "custodian," as defined in this section, is considered a record. "Record" does not include drafts, notes, preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator's personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or her office; materials to which access is limited by copyright, patent or bequest; and published materials in the possession of an authority other than a public library which are available for sale or which are available for inspection at a public library.
Except as provided under § 3.32.070, each officer and employee of the Village shall safely keep and preserve all records received from his or her predecessor or other persons and required by law to be filed, deposited or kept in his or her office or which are in the lawful possession or control of the officer or employee or his or her deputies, or to the possession or control of which he or she or they may be lawfully entitled as such officers or employees.
Upon the expiration of an officer's term of office or an employee's term of employment, or whenever the office or position of employment becomes vacant, each such officer or employee shall provide to his or her successor all records then in his or her custody. If a vacancy occurs before a successor is selected or qualifies, such records shall be maintained in their current location for conveyance to the appropriate person.
The Village Clerk or, in his or her absence or disability or in case of vacancy, the Deputy Clerk, as well as the department head of each Village department, is hereby designated the official legal custodians of all Village records.
[Amended Ord. No. 006, Series 2004]
For every authority not specified in Subsection A or B of this section, the authority's chief administrative officer is the legal custodian for the authority, but the officer may designate an employee of his or her staff to act as the legal custodian.
The legal custodian maintains public records and has the duty to make decisions regarding access to the records. Each departmental legal custodian shall name a person to act as legal custodian in his or her absence.
The legal custodian shall have full legal power to render decisions and to carry out the duties of an authority under Subch. II of Ch. 19, Wis. Stats., and this section. The designation of a legal custodian does not affect the powers and duties of an authority under this section.
Except as provided in § 3.32.060, any person has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of any record as provided in § 19.35(1), Wis. Stats..
Records will be available for inspection and copying during all regular office hours, as outlined in § 3.32.050.
A requester shall be charged a fee to defray the cost of locating and copying records, as follows:
The cost of photocopying shall be $0.25 per page. Said cost has been calculated not to exceed the actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction.
There shall be no charge for locating a record unless the actual cost therefor exceeds $50; in which case the actual cost shall be determined by the legal custodian and billed to the requester.
No copies associated with a request for records shall be mailed to any applicant unless prior arrangements are made with the Village Clerk for the payment of postage.
[Amended by Ord. No. 006, 2004]
The Director of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to prepare a statement of "real property status" form, which shall include such information as is normally sought by interested parties when ownership of real property is transferred. The form may include, but is not necessarily limited to, the amount of outstanding special assessments, deferred assessments, changes in assessments, outstanding water bills, latest water bill, contemplated improvements, floodplain status and violation of the building and health codes. The Director of Administrative Services is authorized and directed to charge $35 for each statement of real property status form requested. No copies of any nature shall be mailed to any applicant unless prior arrangements are made with the Director of Administrative Services for payment of postage.
Pursuant to § 19.34, Wis. Stats., and the guidelines therein listed, each authority shall adopt, prominently display and make available for inspection and copying at its offices, for the guidance of the public, a notice containing a description of its organization and the established times and places at which, the legal custodian for whom, and the methods whereby the public may obtain information and access to records in its custody, make requests for records or obtain copies of records, and the costs thereof. Each authority shall, upon request, provide a copy of §§ 19.31 to 19.39, Wis. Stats., for the guidance of the public. This subsection does not apply to members of the Village Board.
[Amended by Ord. No. A-542-89, 1989; Ord. No. 006, Series 2004]
[Added by Ord. No. 006, Series 2004]
A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian. A request shall be deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested. However, a request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A request may be made orally, but a request must be in writing before an action to enforce the request is commenced under § 19.37, Wis. Stats. Except as provided below, no request may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request. No request may be refused because the request is received by mail, unless prepayment of a fee is required under § 3.32.040F.6. A requester may be required to show acceptable identification whenever the requested record is kept at a private residence or whenever security reasons or federal law or regulations so require.
A request for a record may be denied as provided in § 3.32.060. If a request is made orally, the request may be denied orally unless a demand for a written statement of the reasons denying the request is made by the requester within five business days of the oral denial. If a written request is denied in whole or in part, the requester shall receive a written statement of the reasons for denying the request. Every written denial of a request shall inform the requester that, if the request for the record was made in writing, then the determination is subject to review upon petition for a writ of mandamus under § 19.37(1), Wis. Stats., or upon application to the Attorney General or a district attorney.
Except as otherwise indicated, information, access to records, requests for records, and copies of records may be made to or obtained from the designated legal custodian, as follows:
Village Hall (Administration, Clerk, Finance, Planning and Development, Inspection, and Assessing)
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding holidays
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Sunday
7:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon/1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding holidays
7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding holidays
Water and Wastewater Utility (Billing and Records)
1620 Eleventh Avenue
10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday
As defined in Wisconsin Act 47, there are hereby established three categories of records relating to employees:
Employee-related records that are absolutely closed to public access under the Open Records Law.[1]
Editor's Note: See §§ 19.31 to 19.39, Wis. Stats.
Employee-related records that may be released under the balancing test only after a notice of impending release and the right of judicial review have been provided to the employee that is subject to the record request.
Employee-related records that may be released under the general balancing test without providing a right of notice or judicial review to the employee that is subject to the record request.
A public records authority may not provide access to records containing the following information, except to an employee or the employee's representative, to the extent required by § 103.13, Wis. Stats.:
The home address, home e-mail address, home telephone number or social security number of an employee, unless the employee authorizes the authority to provide access to the information.
Information relating to the current investigation of a possible criminal offense or possible employment-related misconduct.
Information pertaining to an employee's employment examination, except an examination score if access to that score is not otherwise prohibited.
Information relating to one or more specific employees that is used by an authority or the employer for staff management planning, including performance evaluations, judgments or recommendations concerning future salary adjustments or other wage treatments, management bonus plans, promotions, job assignments, letters of reference or other comments or ratings related to employees.
A notice of impending release of employee records and the right to judicial review of employee records shall apply only to the following types of records:
Any records containing information that is the result of an investigation into a disciplinary matter or possible employment-related violation.
Any record obtained by the authority through a subpoena or search warrant.
Any record prepared by an employer other than the authority if it contains information relating to an employee of that employer, unless the employee authorizes the authority to provide access to that information.
No notice is required when access is provided to the employee who is the subject of the record or to his or her representative or bargaining representative. Notice is not required when an authority releases a record produced for equal rights, discrimination, or fair employment law compliance purposes.
Within three days of deciding to release a record outlined in Subsection C, and before allowing access to the record, a custodian must notify the subject of the record requested, by certified mail or personal service upon the record subject, of his or her decision to release the record. The notice must briefly describe the requested record and explain the record subject's rights to file a notice of intent to appeal and also to seek a court order restraining the custodian from providing access.
Within five days after receiving notice of the custodian's decision to release the record, the record subject may notify the authority in writing that he or she intends to seek a court order restraining the authority from providing access to the requested record.
Within 10 days after receiving the notice from the custodian, the record subject may commence an action seeking to restrain the custodian from releasing the record. If the record subject commences an action, the authority may not provide access to the record within the 12 days of sending the record subject notice of an intent to release the record. No record can be released until the matter has proceeded through the various courts and all the appeal periods have expired.
A record or any portion of a record containing information qualifying as a common law trade secret as defined in § 134.90(1)(c), Wis. Stats.
In responding to a request for inspection or copying of a record which is not specifically exempt from disclosure, the legal custodian, after conferring with the Village Attorney, may deny the request, in whole or in part, only if he or she determines that the harm to the public interest resulting from disclosure would outweigh the public interest in full access to the requested record. Examples of matter for which disclosures may be refused include, but are not limited to, the following:
Records obtained under official pledges of confidentiality, which were necessary and given in order to obtain the information contained in them;
Records of current deliberations after a quasi-judicial hearing;
Records concerning current strategy for crime detection or prevention, among but not limited to the reasons for denying all or parts of police records, as in the following:
This portion identifies a juvenile.
This portion names law enforcement personnel. Disclosure will impair their effectiveness in their duties and subject them to harassment and physical injury.
This portion identifies a person. Disclosure of such person in this context would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect on their reputation.
This portion if released would result in harm to the public interest, which outweighs the legislative policy of allowing inspection of public records.
This portion contains investigative information.
This portion contains confidential information furnished only by a confidential source who has requested anonymity as a condition of supplying this information.
This portion would identify a confidential source and would endanger the life or physical safety of this source.
This portion would identify a confidential source, and this would jeopardize a criminal investigation.
This portion will jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation in that it will disclose evidence.
This portion would disclose the contents of a communication between administrative or executive personnel on matters of policy, the disclosure of which would inhibit the frank and full discussion of matters necessary to set policy.
This portion contains employee performance evaluation data.
This information is unsubstantiated; if released it would unduly damage the reputation of the individual(s) involved.
Other information specifically exempted by law.
Records of current deliberations or negotiations on the purchase of Village property, investing of Village funds, or other Village business, whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require nondisclosure;
Financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons which, if disclosed, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such history or data;
Communications between legal counsel for the Village and any officer, agent or employee of the Village, when advice is being rendered concerning strategy with respect to current litigation in which the Village or any of its officers, agents or employees is or is likely to become involved, or communications which are privileged under § 905.03, Wis. Stats.
Any village clerk or the director of any department or division of village government may, subject to the approval of the Village Board, keep and preserve public records in his or her possession by means of microfilm or other photographic reproduction method. Such records shall meet the standards for photographic reproduction set forth in § 16.61(7)(a), (b), Wis. Stats., and shall be considered original records for all purposes. Such records shall be preserved along with other files of the department or division and shall be open to public inspection and copying according to the provisions of state law and of §§ 3.32.040 through 3.32.060 of this chapter.