ALAMEDA WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICT
PUBLIC RECORDS POLICY
1. PURPOSE:
The policy of the Alameda Water and Sanitation District (the "District") is that the decision-making process is a matter of public business and may not be conducted in secret. All public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, except as otherwise provided by law. The District desires to implement a policy that will serve the public's right to access public records, while identifying to employees the inherent difficulties in ensuring privacy in the use of the District's computer system for personal use.
2. AUTHORITY:
The District enacts this Policy under the following authority: the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. � 24-72-201, et seq., as amended ("CORA"); the Colorado Sunshine Law, C.R.S. � 24-6-401, et seq., as amended; Black v. Southwestern Water Conservation District, 74 P.3d 462 (Colo. App. 2003); Glenwood Post v. City of Glenwood Springs, 731 P.2d 761 (Colo. App. 1986); and Mountain Plains Investment Corp. v. Parker Jordan Metro. Dist., 12CA1034 (Colo. App., August 15, 2013).
3. DEFINITIONS:
For purposes of this Policy, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
A. Correspondence: A communication that is sent to or received by one or more specifically identified individuals and that is or can be produced in written form, including, without limitation, communications sent via electronic mail, private courier, U.S. mail, modem or computer.
B. Custodian of Records: The individual who shall be responsible for compiling documents, scheduling appointments for inspection, and for responding to any such public records request. The District hereby designates District Manager as the Custodian of Records.
C. Electronic Mail ("E-mail"): An electronic message that is transmitted between two (2) or more computers or electronic terminals, whether or not the message is converted to hard copy format after receipt and whether or not the message is viewed upon transmission or stored for later retrieval. E-mail includes electronic messages that are transmitted through a local, regional or global computer network.
D. Work Product: All advisory or deliberative materials assembled for the benefit of elected officials, which materials express an opinion or are deliberative in nature and are communicated for the purpose of assisting such elected officials in reaching a decision within the scope of their authority. Such materials include, but are not limited to: (a) notes and memoranda that relate to or serve as background information for such decisions; and (b) preliminary drafts and discussion copies of documents that express a decision by an elected official. "Work product" also includes a request by a District official for the preparation of such opinion or deliberative materials. For example, if the Executive Director requests in writing that staff prepare material to assist the District Board in a decision-making process, the written request shall also be considered "work product."
4. PROTECTED RECORDS:
Certain records are protected under law from public inspection under the CORA. These records fall into the following categories:
� Personnel files
� Ongoing investigations by law enforcement authorities
� Work product
� Letters of reference
� Social security numbers
� Correspondence sent to or received from the District's legal counsel
� Individual medical, mental health, sociological and scholastic achievement data
� Letters of reference
� Trade secrets
� Confidential commercial or financial data
� Names, addresses, telephone numbers, and personal financial information of past or present users of public utilities, facilities, or recreational or cultural services
Records that are exempt from the CORA might still be accessible to other forms of inspection, such as subpoena.
5. E-MAIL:
A. General. The District shall make all e-mail which constitutes a public record and is not protected from disclosure under the CORA available for public inspection in compliance with the CORA.
B. Retention of E-mail. E-mail shall be retained on the system for ninety (90) days, and then e-mail shall be deleted. After such deletion, the e-mail shall not be retrievable in any form. Employees should be aware of this retention policy, and should not expect e-mail to be retained for any longer period of time. Employees should also be aware that any printed copy of e-mail, if retained in document form, may constitute a public record for as long as it is retained.
C. Public Meetings. Pursuant to the Colorado Sunshine Law, a meeting of three (3) or more members of the District Board at which any public business is discussed or at which any formal action may be taken is a public meeting. The term "discussion" as used in the Colorado Sunshine Law implies live, responsive communication between elected officials. Therefore, it shall be the District's policy that the mere receipt or transmission of e-mail in other than a live, communicative discussion format shall not constitute a public meeting and shall not be subject to the requirements of the Colorado Sunshine Law. For example, the receipt by one or more elected officials of e-mail sent earlier in the day or week by another elected official concerning public business shall not constitute a "public meeting." The e-mail may, however, constitute a public record otherwise subject to disclosure pursuant to this Policy.
6. RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS:
All documents which constitute public records other than e-mail shall be retained in accordance with the guidelines established by the Colorado State Archives. At the request of the District Attorney, the Custodian of Records may retain certain records after the retention period expires, if those records are relevant to pending or imminent litigation involving the District.
7. INSPECTION:
A. General. Public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, subject to the exceptions found in the CORA. All public records shall be inspected at the District's offices or at the offices of the District's Attorney.
B. Request Required. A request to inspect public records must be made to the Custodian of Records in writing, and must be sufficiently specific in scope to enable the Custodian to identify the information desired. Requests for inspection of e-mail shall include the sender's name, the recipient's name and the approximate date and time of the transmission. If the Custodian receives a request to inspect public records that is ambiguous or lacks sufficient specificity to enable the Custodian to locate the records, the Custodian shall, within three (3) working days, notify the requesting party in writing of the deficiencies in the request. Any clarified request shall be considered a new request for purposes of this Policy and the CORA.
C. Review and Response. Upon receipt of a request for inspection of public records, the Custodian of Records shall review the request and determine whether the requested records are voluminous, in active use, or otherwise not readily available. If so, the Custodian shall, within three (3) business days, notify the requesting party in writing that the documents will be produced for inspection within seven (7) business days of the date of the request, pursuant to C.R.S. � 24-72-203(3). The notice shall state the reason(s) why the requested records are not readily available, and shall ask the requesting party to schedule an appointment for inspection of the requested records. If the records are readily available, the Custodian shall, within three (3) working days of the request, contact the requesting party to schedule an appointment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, based on the case of Citizens Progressive Alliance v. Southwestern Water Conservation District, if it is physically impossible for the Custodian to comply with any request for public records within the time periods established by the CORA, the Custodian shall comply with the request as soon as physically possible.
D. District's Attorney. Any of the notices required herein may be issued by the District's Attorney in lieu of the Custodian of Records. By written notice, the District's Attorney may further require that any requesting party contact the District Attorney rather than the Custodian of Records.
8. FEES:
A. Copies, Printouts or Photographs. Pursuant to C.R.S. � 24-72-205(5)(a), the District shall charge a fee not to exceed twenty-five cents ($0.25) per standard page for any copy of a public record or a fee not to exceed the actual cost of providing a copy, printout or photograph of a public record which is in a format other than a standard page. For purposes of this Policy, a black and white copy made on a single sheet of letter or legal seized white paper shall constitute a �standard page.�
B. Research and Retrieval. Pursuant to C.R.S. � 24-72-205(6)(a), the first hour of research and retrieval time shall be free of charge; however, the District reserves the right to charge a fee of thirty dollars ($30.00) per hour for any additional staff time devoted to researching and retrieving the requested information. Anyone submitting a request for electronically stored public records shall remit a deposit equal to fifty percent (50%) of the estimated costs for the search before the search is commenced.
C. Postage/Courier Fees. If the Custodian of Records transmits records by regular mail or courier service, the requesting party shall be responsible for the cost of postage or courier fees.
D. Electronic Transmission Fees. The District may not charge transmission fees to the requesting party for transmitting public records via e-mail, provided that the requesting party may be charged for staff time associated with research and retrieval of the requested records as provided herein.