FROM POLICY AND BYLAW MANUAL
4.02 – Request for Inspection and Copying
Colorado statutes have established as public policy that all public records should be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, except as provided by law in accordance with §24-72-201, C.R.S.
1. All requests for inspection and copying records of the District shall be made in writing to the Board Secretary and mailed to HPRD, P.O. Box 1021, Walsenburg, Colorado 81089. The Secretary shall notice the requestor in writing, either by mail or email, within 72 hours of receipt of said request, information relating to when the documents will be made available for inspection or copying and that said information but will only be made available or sent once the District or custodian of said record either receives payment or makes arrangements for receiving payment for all costs and fees associated with the request for and transmission of the public record, unless the District or custodian has waived all or some of the fees in accordance with §24-72-205(1)(b), C.R.S.
2. The District or Custodian shall seek the advice of the District’s attorney before making available records or releasing records that may be confidential.
3. For a fee, the person requesting inspection is entitled to copies or printouts of the District’s public records.
Special rules apply to records that are kept digitally:
1. If a public record is stored in a digital format that is neither searchable nor sortable, the custodian shall provide a copy of the public record in a digital format.
2. If a public record is stored in a digital format that is searchable but not sortable, the custodian shall provide a copy of the public record in a searchable format.
3. If a public record is stored in a digital format that is sortable, the custodian shall provide a copy of the public record in a sortable format.
A copying fee not to exceed 25¢ per standard page may be assessed, unless actual costs exceed that amount. If the copying or printout is generated from a computer output other than word processing, the cost of building and maintaining that information system may be offset by charging a reasonable allocation to the person requesting the record.
A reasonable research and retrieval fee may be charged, but only if the District has adopted and published on their website, or elsewhere, a written policy that includes a specific research and retrieval fee. The fee may not exceed $33.58 per hour or as increased by applicable statute, and no charge may be imposed for the first hour of research and retrieval of public records.