ORDINANCE NO. 636
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, NEBRASKA, PROVIDING FOR PRODUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND REPEALING SECTIONS IN CONFLICT.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, NEBRASKA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That the Municipal Code be and hereby is amended to add the following provisions regarding the production of public records to interested citizens:
A. Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, all citizens of this state and all other persons interested in the examination of the public records of the city, as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712.01, are hereby fully empowered and authorized to:
1. Examine such records and make memoranda, copies using their own copying or photocopying equipment in accordance with subsection (B) of this section, and abstracts therefrom, all free of charge, during the hours the city office may be kept open for the ordinary transaction of business; and
2. Except if federal copyright law otherwise provides, obtain copies of public records in accordance with subsection (C) of this section during the hours the city office may be kept open for the ordinary transaction of business.
B. Copies made by citizens or other persons using their own copying or photo-copying equipment pursuant to subdivision (A)(1) of this section shall be made at the city office or at a location mutually agreed to by the requester and the city clerk.
C. Procedure.
1. Copies may be obtained pursuant to subdivision (A)(2) of this section only if the city has copying equipment reasonably available. Such copies may be obtained in any form designated by the requester in which the public record is maintained or produced, including but not limited to printouts, electronic data, discs, tapes, and photocopies. This section shall not be construed to require the city clerk to copy any public record that is available to the requester on the city’s web site on the Internet. The city clerk is required to provide the location of the public record on the Internet to the requester. If the requester does not have reasonable access to the Internet due to lack of computer, lack of Internet availability, or inability to use a computer or the Internet, the city clerk shall produce copies for the requester.
2. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the city may charge a fee for providing copies of such public record pursuant to subdivision (A)(2) of this section, which fee shall not exceed the actual added cost of making the copies available. For purposes of this subdivision: (a) for photocopies, the actual added cost of making the copies available shall not exceed the amount of the reasonably calculated actual added cost of the photocopies, which may include a reasonably apportioned cost of the supplies, such as paper, toner, and equipment, used in preparing the copies, as well as any additional payment obligation of the city for time of contractors necessarily incurred to comply with the request for copies, (b) for printouts of computerized data on paper, the actual added cost of making the copies available shall include the reasonably calculated actual added cost of computer run time and the cost of materials for making the copy, and (c) for electronic data, the actual added cost of making the copies available shall include the reasonably calculated actual added cost of the computer run time, any necessary analysis and programming by the public body, public entity, public official, or third-party information technology services company contracted to provide computer services to the city, and the production of the report in the form furnished to the requester.
3. The actual added cost used as the basis for the calculation of a fee for records shall not include any charge for the existing salary or pay obligation to the city employees with respect to the first four cumulative hours of searching, identifying, physically redacting, or copying. A special service charge reflecting the calculated labor cost may be included in the fee for time required in excess of four cumulative hours, since that large a request may cause some delay or disruption of the other responsibilities of the city clerk’s office, except that the fee for records shall not include any charge for the services of an attorney to review the requested public records seeking a legal basis to withhold the public records from the public.
4. This section shall not be construed to require the city to produce or generate any public record in a new or different form or format modified from that of the original public record.
5. If copies requested in accordance with subdivision (A)(2) of this section are estimated by the city clerk to cost more than $50.00, he or she may require the requester to furnish a deposit prior to fulfilling such request.
D. Upon receipt of a written request for access to or copies of a public record, the city clerk shall provide to the requester as soon as is practicable and without delay but not more than four business days after actual receipt of the request, an estimate of the expected cost of the copies and either:
1. Access to or, if copying equipment is reasonably available, copies of the public record;
2. If there is a legal basis for denial of access or copies, a written denial of the request, together with the information specified in Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712.04; or
3. If the entire request cannot with reasonable good faith efforts be fulfilled within four business days after actual receipt of the request due to the significant difficulty or the extensiveness of the request, a written explanation, including the earliest practicable date for fulfilling the request, an estimate of the expected cost of any copies, and an opportunity for the requester to modify or prioritize the items within the request. The requester shall have ten business days to review the estimated costs, including any special service charge, and request the city clerk to fulfill the original request, negotiate with the clerk to narrow or simplify the request, or withdraw the request. If the requester does not respond to the city clerk within ten business days, the clerk shall not proceed to fulfill the request. The four business days shall be computed by excluding the day the request is received, after which the designated period of time begins to run. “Business day” does not include a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day during which the city office is closed.
E. Records which may be withheld from the public are enumerated in Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712.05. Any reasonably segregable public portion of a record shall be provided to the public as a public record upon request after deletion of the portions which may be withheld.
F. Any person denied any rights granted by Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712 to 84-712.03 may act as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712.03 and shall receive in written form from the city at least the information as provided in Neb. Rev. Stat. §84-712.04.
SECTION 2. That all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. That this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage, approval and publication according to law.
Passed and approved this 6th day of January, 2014.
CITY OF ELGIN, NEBRASKA
Mike Schmitt
Mayor
ATTEST:
Vicki Miller
City Clerk
CERTIFICATION
I, Vicki Miller, clerk of the City of Elgin, Nebraska, hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of Ordinance No. 636 of said city, passed by the City Council this 6th day of January, 2014.
Vicki Miller
City Clerk
PUBLISH: January 15, 2014
ZNEZ
