Section 1. Purpose.
This policy shall implement and govern the release of public records by personnel of
Carlisle Borough. It is intended to comply with the Right to Know Law of
Pennsylvania, 65 P.S. §67.101 et seq., as amended, and where the provisions of this
policy conflict with any provision of the Act, the latter shall control.

Section 2. Definitions.
a) ACT – The Act commonly known as the Right to Know Law of Pennsylvania or the
Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, 65 P.S. §67.101 et seq., as amended.
b) BOROUGH – Carlisle Borough, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and all of its
respective elected and appointed officials and employees.
c) PUBLIC RECORD – A Borough record, including a financial record, that:
1) Is not exempt under section 708 of the Act;
2) Is not exempt from being disclosed under any other Federal or State law or
regulation or judicial order or decree; or
3) Is not protected by a privilege.
d) RECORD – Information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that
documents a Borough transaction or activity and that is created, received or
retained pursuant to law or in connection with a Borough transaction, business or
activity. The term includes a document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph,
film or sound recording, information stored or maintained electronically and a data-
processed or image-processed document.
e) REQUESTER – A person that is a legal resident of the United States and requests a
record pursuant to this Act. The term includes an agency.

Section 3. Denial of access to persons who are not requestors.
The Borough shall deny access to public records to any person who is not a
requester.

Section 4. Record not accessible as public record.
No record, other than a public record, shall be made available to a requester. The
Borough shall not be required to create a public record which does not currently
exist or to compile, maintain, format or organize a public record in a manner in
which the Borough does not currently compile, maintain, format or organize the
public record.

Section 5. Procedure for requesting a public record.
a) Method of Request. A request for access to a public record should be written and
submitted in person, by mail, by email, by facsimile or, to the extent provided by
Borough rules, any other electronic means, and shall be addressed to the Open
Records Officer, Carlisle Borough, 53 West South Street, Carlisle, PA 17013
(Telephone #: 717.249.4422; Facsimile#: 717.240.6615).
b) A request must be written in order for the Requester to avail himself of the rights
and remedies under the Act. An email request shall be considered a written request.
c) Form of Request. The request shall be addressed to the person designated above
and shall:
1) Describe the public records sought as detailed as possible.
2) Include the name and address of the requester.
3) The requester shall use the “Public Records Request Form,” a copy of which is
attached hereto as Appendix 1. The Borough shall make this form available
to requesters.

Section 6. Prohibitions.
a) The Borough shall not require the requester to disclose the purpose or motive in
requesting access to public records.
b) The Borough shall not limit the number of public records that may be requested or
made available for inspection or duplication.

Section 7. Time when public record is made available.
a) Public records shall be available for access during the regular business hours of the
Borough as established from time to time.
b) Public records will not be available for access when the Borough offices are closed
during non-business hours, weekends, holidays, or for other reasons of exigency or
emergency.

Section 8. Form and release of public record.
a) A public record shall be provided to a requester in the medium requested if the
public record exists in that medium; otherwise, it shall be provided in the medium in
which it exists.
b) The Borough may make its public records available through any publicly accessible
electronic means.
2c) Conversion of an electronic public record to paper. If a public record is only
maintained electronically or in other non-paper media, the Borough shall, upon
request, duplicate the public record on paper when responding to a request for
access.
d) Release by mail.
1) If not otherwise requested by the requester, the Borough shall send the
requested public records by regular mail, or at the option of the Borough, may
send the public records by electronic mail to those requesters capable of
receiving electronic mail.
2) The requester may request delivery of the public records by mail, facsimile,
express mail, email or other customarily available methods. The Borough
shall make a good faith effort the send the public records by the method
requested.
3) The postage or other actual fees for delivery shall be charged to the
requester.
e) In person.
1) If a requester desires to receive the public records in person, he may
communicate his request verbally or in writing by mail, facsimile or email to
the Borough to retain the records for pick-up at the Borough Office.
2) Upon receiving the request, the Borough shall make a good faith effort to
hold the requested public records at the Borough Office for a reasonable
period of time, which shall not exceed sixty (60) days.

Section 9. The Borough’s response to requests.
a) Notice of the Borough’s decision.
1) The Borough shall respond within five (5) business days by providing the
requested public records, extending the time for response, denying the
request or partially granting and partially denying the request.
2) The Borough shall respond in writing unless the request was made in
another medium, in which event its response may be in both writing and the
medium in which the request was made.
b) Extensions. If the Borough determines that one of the following applies, it shall
send written notice to the requester within five (5) business days of the request that
it is being reviewed, the reason for the review and a reasonable date that a response
is expected to be provided:
1) The request for access requires redaction of a public record in accordance
with Section 11 of this policy.
32) The request for access requires the retrieval of a record stored in a remote
location.
3) A timely response to the request for access cannot be accomplished due to
bona fide and specified staffing limitations.
4) A legal review is necessary to determine whether the record is a public
record.
5) The requester has not complied with the Act or this policy regarding access to
public records.
6) The requester refuses to pay applicable fees authorized by Section 12 of this
policy.
7) The extent or nature of the request precludes a response within the required
time period.
c) Deemed Denial.
The Borough’s failure to comply with the time limitations set forth in paragraph (a)
shall be deemed to be a denial of the request. If the Borough’s response under
paragraph (b) is expected to be provided in excess of thirty (30) days, following the
five (5) business days allowed in paragraph (a), the request shall be deemed denied.
d) Denial.
If the Borough response is a denial of the request, whether in whole or in part, a
written response shall be issued and include:
1) A description of the record requested.
2) The specific reason for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal
authority. If the denial is the result of a determination that the record
requested is not a public record, the specific reasons for the Borough’s
determination that the record is not a public record shall be included.
3) The typed or printed name, title, business address, business telephone
number and signature of the public official or public employee on whose
authority the denial is issued.
4) The date of the response.
5) The procedure to appeal the denial of access.

Section 10. Exceptions and final Borough determination.
a) If a written request for access is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an
appeal to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records within fifteen (15) business days
4of the mailing date of the Borough’s denial or within fifteen (15) days of a deemed
denial.
b) The exceptions shall state the grounds upon which the requester asserts that the
record is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the Borough for
delaying or denying the request.

Section 11. Redaction.
a) If the requested public records include information that is not subject to public
access, the Borough may redact that information.
b) The information which the Borough redacts shall be deemed a denial under Section
9 of this policy and the Borough shall give a written response to the requester in
accordance with that Section.

Section 12. Disruptive requests.
The Borough may deny a requester access to a record if the requester has made
repeated requests for that same record and the repeated requests have placed an
unreasonable burden on the Borough. A denial under this subsection shall not
restrict the ability to request a different record.

Section 13. Fees.
a) The Borough shall charge the requester the actual fees for postage for mailing the
public records. When another means of delivery is requested, such as express mail
or facsimile, the Borough shall charge the requester the actual delivery fees incurred
by the Borough.
b) Duplication. Fees for duplication by photocopying, printing from electronic media or
microfilm, copying onto electronic media, transmission by facsimile or other
electronic means and other means of duplication shall be determined by the Borough
from time to time, but shall be in conformity with those established by the PA Office
of Open Records and be otherwise reasonable and based on prevailing fees for
comparable duplication services provided by local business entities. The current list
of fees is attached to this Policy as Appendix 2.
c) Certification. The Borough will impose reasonable fees, as determined by it from
time to time, for official certification of copies when the certification is at the behest
of the requester and is for the purpose of legally verifying the public record. The
current certification fee is listed on Appendix 2.
d) Conversion to paper. If a public record is only maintained electronically or in other
non-paper media, duplication fees shall be limited to the lesser of the fee for
duplication on paper or the fee for duplication in the native media as provided by
subsection (b) unless the requester specifically requests for the public record to be
duplicated in the more expensive medium.
5e) Enhanced electronic access. If the Borough offers enhanced electronic access to
public records in addition to making the public records accessible for inspection and
duplication by a requester, the Borough will, from time to time, establish user fees
specifically for the provision of the enhanced electronic access, but only to the extent
that the enhanced electronic access is in addition to making the public records
accessible for inspection and duplication by a requester as required by law. The user
fees for enhanced electronic access may be a flat rate, a subscription fee for a period
of time, a per-transaction fee, a fee based on the cumulative time of system access or
any other reasonable method and any combination thereof. The user fees for
enhanced electronic access shall be reasonable and may not be established with the
intent or effect of excluding persons from access to public records or duplicates
thereof or of creating profit for the Borough. If offered, the fees for this service are
listed on Appendix 2.
f) Waiver of fees. The Borough may waive the fees for duplication of a public record
including, but not limited to, when:
1) The requester duplicates the public record; or
2) The Borough deems it is in the public interest to do so.
In either event, the determination as to waiver of fees, in whole or in part, shall
be made by the Borough Open Records Officer or his designee.
g) If the expected fees to fulfill the request exceed $100, the Borough may require the
requester to prepay the estimate of the fees.

Section 14. Posting of policy.
This policy shall be conspicuously posted at the Borough office and may be made
available by electronic means.