Compliance

The District shall fully comply with the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410‑192.505.

·         Specificity of Request:  In order to facilitate the public's access to records in the District's possession, and to avoid unnecessary expenditure of staff time, persons requesting access to public records for inspection or copying, or who submit written requests for copies of public records, shall specify the records requested with particularity, furnishing the dates, subject matter and such other detail as may be necessary to enable District personnel to readily locate the records sought. The District may provide forms to help clarify the nature of the request.

·         Access:  The District shall permit inspection and examination of its non‑exempt public records during regular business hours in the District's offices, or such other locations as the Superintendent may reasonably designate from time to time.  Copies of non‑exempt public records maintained in machine readable or electronic form shall be furnished, if available, in the form requested.  If not available in the form requested, such records shall be made available in the form in which they are maintained.  ORS 192.440(2).

·         When a request is submitted in writing, the District must respond within five business days acknowledging the receipt of the request. The District then has an additional ten business days to either fulfill the request or issue a written response estimating how long fulfillment will take. The District is not subject to this response timeframe if it is awaiting a response from the requester seeking clarification of the inquiry or if the requester has not agreed to pay for the records, provided that the cost is $25.00 or more. Other considerations that apply are:

o    Complicated requests

o    Large volume of requests

o    Requests involving documents not readily available or if the necessary staff are unavailable to fulfill the request

Fees for Public Records

Fees must be limited to no more than $25.00 unless the requestor is provided with a written estimate of the fee amount and the person requesting the records instructs the District to proceed.

In order to recover its costs for responding to public records requests, the following fee schedule is adopted by the District:

·         Copies of Public Records shall be based on size and color:

o   $0.25 per copy (black and white) or $0.75 (color) for letter size pages.

o   $0.50 per copy (black and white) or $1.00 (color) for legal size pages.

o   $1.50 per copy (black and white) or $2.00 (color) for ledger size pages.       

·         Copies of Maps, Digital Data and Other Nonstandard Documents:  Charges for copying maps or other nonstandard size documents shall be charged in accordance with the actual costs incurred by the District, including labor and materials.

·         Research Fees:  A flat fee of $15.00 will cover up to 15 minutes of staff time to locate and prepare the records for copying. If a request for records requires District personnel to spend more than 15 minutes searching or reviewing records prior to their review or release for copying, the District shall prepare a written estimate of the time and expense required to respond to the records request, and the person making the request shall make payment for the estimated cost of the search and copying of the records in advance.  At the time the records are produced, actual expenses will be compared with the estimate and excess funds will be refunded or the requestor will be charged for additional funds owed.

·         Additional Charges:  If a request is of such magnitude and nature that compliance would disrupt the District's normal operation, the District may impose such additional charges as are necessary to reimburse the District for its actual costs of producing the records.

·         Reduced Fee or Free Copies:  Whenever it determines that furnishing copies of public records in its possession at a reduced fee or without costs would be in the public interest, the Board of Commissioners or Superintendent may so authorize.  ORS 192.440(4).

Authorization Required for Removal of Original Records

At no time shall an original record of the District be removed from the District's files or the place at which the record is regularly maintained, except upon authorization of the Board of Commissioners or Superintendent.

On-Site Review of Original Records

If a request to review original records is made, the District shall permit such a review provided that search fees are paid in advance in accordance with the Fees for Public Records section, above.  A representative shall be present at any time original records are reviewed, and the charges for standing by while the records are reviewed shall be the same as the charges for searching or reviewing records.

Unauthorized Alteration, Removal, or Destruction of Records

If any person attempts to alter, remove or destroy any District record, the District representative shall immediately terminate such person’s review, and notify the attorney for the District.