Clifton Sanitation District Open Records Request Policy
1.3.8 Access to Public Records
This policy is to protect and control District records, as allowed by the Colorado Public Records Law at C.R.S. Sections 24-72-201 to 205, and to define the method by which the legal obligation of the District to provide public access to its records and requests for information will be handled. The following guidelines will dictate the answering of all public information requests:
(a) Requests for information must be in writing and must be specific as to the information desired.
(b) All requests for information must be directed to the Records Custodian of the District. Unless otherwise designated by the Board, the Records Custodian shall be the District General Manager.
(c) Records are available for public inspection during normal working hours, provided that an appointment has been made with the Records Custodian at least three (3) business days in advance.
(d) Within three (3) business days of the date of the written request, the Records Custodian shall make the documents available for inspection. If due to extenuating circumstances the records are not readily available for inspection within three (3) business days, and if asked to do so, the Records Custodian shall make reasonable efforts to make the records available within seven (7) working days from the date of the written request. If the request is extraordinarily voluminous or requires extensive research and retrieval time and the request cannot be completed within seven (7) business days, then the Records Custodian shall so notify the requesting party and shall state the date when such records will be available for inspection.
(e) All Physical records must be viewed at the District office and the physical records may not be removed from the District office. All inspections of physical records shall be under the supervision of the Records Custodian or its appointed designee.
(f) A public record stored in digital format shall be transmitted by electronic mail or by another mutually-agreed upon electronic transmission method if the size of the record prevents transmission by electronic email. (g) Records will be retrieved and re-filed by the Records Custodian or its appointed designee.
(h) Records will be removed from file folders or places of storage for photocopying only by the Records Custodian or its appointed designee.
(i) The District will charge a fee of twenty-five cents ($0.25) per standard page for a 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 that is in a format other than a standard page. The District will not charge a per-page fee for providing records in a digital or electronic format.
(j) Except as otherwise allowed by C.R.S. Section 24-72-203 (3.5), if a public record is stored in a digital format, it shall be provided in the same digital format as it is stored, including with the search or sort functionalities of such format if they exist.
(k) Information requests will not take priority over previously scheduled work activities of the District.
(l) The District may assess a fee of Thirty-three Dollars ($33.00) per hour to cover the administrative costs of researching and retrieving the documents requested, provided that there shall not be a fee for the first hour of time expended in connection with the research and retrieval of public records.
(m) The District may withhold or redact records which contain privileged information or that are protected from disclosure by any statute or rule of any court.
Adopted December 6, 2023