Public Records Request
The designee of the Holmes SWCD board will respond to public records requests in accordance with the Sunshine Laws and Ohio Revised Code.
All elected officials in the state of Ohio, or appropriate designees, are required to attend training approved by the Attorney General once during their term. The training is to ensure public officials are appropriately educated about their obligations under the Public Records Act. According to the act, if the public office includes more than one elected official [as do SWCD boards], one appropriate person (board or staff person) may serve as the “designee” on behalf of all the elected public officials. A current copy of all records training certificates should be maintained in the district files. The Program Administrator should affirm at the January board meeting those who have had the training and identify the designee in the minutes. A list of Certified Public Records Trainings, including online training, can be found on the Ohio Attorney General website.
Because some agricultural operation records are considered proprietary, all agriculture pollution investigation information will be entered into the Ohio Department of Agriculture reporting system and no additional records maintained by Holmes SWCD. Documents then must be requested through the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Soil and Water Conservation.
Record requests
1. Although no specific language is required to make a request, the requester must identify the records requested with sufficient clarity to allow the public office to identify, retrieve, and review the records. If it is not clear what records are being sought, the records officer must contact the requester for clarification, and should assist the requestor in revising the request by informing the requestor of the manner in which the office keeps its records.
2. The requester is not required to but is encouraged to complete a Public Information Request Form. A Public Information Request Form will be completed either by the requester or by the public records officer. The form shall be completed for every request for public information.
3. Public records are to be available for inspection during regular business hours, with the exception of published holidays. Public records will be made available for inspection promptly. Individuals who view records during business hours will be accompanied by the records officer or alternate. Copies of public records must be made available within a reasonable period of time. “Prompt” and “reasonable” take into account the volume of records requested; the proximity of the location where the records are stored; and the necessity for any legal review of the records requested.
4. Each request should be evaluated for an estimated length of time required to gather the records. All requests for public records shall be acknowledged in writing by the public records officer within a reasonable period of time following the offices receipt of the request. If a request is deemed significantly beyond “routine,” such as seeking a voluminous number of copies or requiring extensive research or legal consultation, the acknowledgement must include the following:
An estimated number of business days it will take to satisfy the request.
An estimated cost if copies are requested.
Any items within the request that may be exempt from disclosure.
5. Any denial of public records requested must include an explanation, including legal authority. If portions of a record are public and portions are exempt, the exempt portions are to be redacted and the rest released. If there are redactions, each redaction must be clearly visible and accompanied by a supporting explanation, including legal authority.
6. All responses to requests for public information will be documented on the Response to Request for Public Information form by the public records officer. Copies of both forms and the information given in response to the request or detailed information on where a copy of the information that was given is located will be included in the Public Information Request file.
Costs for Public Records
Those seeking public records will be charged the actual cost of making copies.
1. The charge for monochrome paper copies is 10 cents per page.
2. There is no charge for downloaded computer files that are emailed or shared via cloud storage.
3. There is no charge for documents e-mailed, but documents will not be converted to digital format unless they are already available in that format.
4. Requesters may ask that documents be mailed to them. In addition to copy charges, they will be charged the actual cost of the postage and mailing supplies. Documents will be mailed upon receipt of payment.
Documents in electronic mail format are records as defined by the Ohio Revised Code when their content relates to the business of the office. E-mail is to be treated in the same fashion as records in other formats and should follow the same retention schedules. SWCD employees shall use only SWCD E-mail accounts to conduct public business.
Failure to respond to a public records request
The Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District failure to comply appropriately to a public records request may result in a court ordering the Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District to comply with the law and to pay the requester attorney’s fees and damages.