Source: http://www.smythcounty.org/foia/foia.htm
Timestamp: 2019-06-17 19:40:54
Document Index: 87870654

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§2', '§ 2']

﻿ FOIA Main
The following is a general description of the types of records held by Smyth County:
· Personnel records concerning employees and officials of Smyth County
· Records of contracts which Smyth County has entered into
· General records that are generated by county departments in the normal conduct of business
If you are unsure whether Smyth County has the record(s) you seek, please contact Alicia Richardson, FOIA Officer, directly at 1-276-706-8305 or lrichardson@smythcounty.org. You can learn more about the VFOIA by visiting the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council website or by reading The Virginia Freedom of Information Act online.
Your request must ask for existing records or documents. FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of Smyth County, nor does it require Smyth County to create a record that does not exist.
You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by Smyth County in the regular course of business.
Smyth County must respond to your request within five working days of receiving it. "Day One" is considered the day after your request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays.
The reason behind your request for public records from Smyth County is irrelevant, and you do not have to state why you want the records before we respond to your request. FOIA does, however, allow Smyth County to require you to provide your name and legal address.
FOIA requires that Smyth County make one of the following responses to your request within the five-day time period:
5) If it is practically impossible for Smyth County to respond to your request within the five-day period, we must state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This will allow us seven additional working days to respond to your request, giving us a total of 12 working days to respond to your request.
FOIA RIGHTS & exemptions
The Code of Virginia allows Smyth County to withhold certain records from public disclosure. Smyth County commonly withholds records subject to the following exemptions:
·Personnel records (§ 2.2-3705.1 (1) of the Code of Virginia
·Records subject to attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1 (2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2-3705.1 (3))
·Vendor proprietary information (§ 2.2-3705.1 (6))
·Records relating to the negotiation and award of a contract, prior to a contract being awarded (§ 2.2-3705.1 (12))
·Others exemptions may apply. For a full list of exemptions, please reference Virginia Code §2.2-3705.1 et seq.
The general policy of Smyth County is to invoke the personnel records exemption in those instances where it applies in order to protect the privacy of employees and officials of Smyth County.
The general policy of Smyth County is to invoke the contract negotiations exemption whenever it applies in order to protect Smyth County bargaining position and negotiating strategy.
The County reserves the right to utilize any exemption provided under the Freedom of Information Act.
Exemptions are exercised on a case by case basis.
Smyth County may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records. We shall not impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the county. Any duplicating fee charged shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. All charges for the supplying of requested records shall be estimated in advance at the request of the citizen as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
You may have to pay for the records that you request from Smyth County. FOIA allows us to charge for the actual costs of responding to FOIA requests. This would include items like staff time spent searching for the requested records, copying costs or any other costs directly related to supplying the requested records. It cannot include general overhead costs.
If you owe us money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, Smyth County may require payment of the past-due bill before it will respond to your new FOIA request.
To request records from Smyth County, you may direct your request to:
Alicia Richardson, FOIA Officer
Smyth County Administrator’s Office,
121 Bagley Circle, Suite 100, Marion, VA, 24354.
Phone: 276-706-8305, Fax: 276-783-9314
or email: lrichardson@smythcounty.org.
Please call to verify receipt of your request. You may also contact the FOIA Officer with questions you have concerning requesting records from Smyth County.
To request records pertaining to constitutional offices please contact the following: