Chapter 1 · Administration

Article 6. Open Records

Sections 1-601 to 1-615 · 15 sections

1-601 Policy.

(a)It is hereby declared to be the policy of the city that all public records which are made, maintained, or kept by or are in the possession of the city, its officers, and employees, shall be open for public inspection as provided, and subject to the restrictions imposed by the Kansas Open Records Act.

(b)Any person, upon request, shall have access to such open public records for the purpose of inspecting, abstracting, or copying such records while they are in the possession, custody, and control of the appointed or designated record custodian thereof, or his or her designated representative.

(Code 2014)

1-602 Record custodians.

(a)All city officers and employees appointed or designated as record custodians under this article shall: protect public records from damage and disorganization; prevent excessive disruption of the essential functions of the city; provide assistance and information upon request; insure efficient and timely action and response to all applications for inspection of public records; and shall carry out the procedures adopted by this city of inspecting and copying upon public records.

(b)The official custodian shall prominently display, distribute, or otherwise make available to the public a brochure in the form prescribed by the Local Freedom of Information Officer that contains basic information about the rights of a requester, the responsibilities of a public agency, and the procedures for inspecting or obtaining a copy of public records under the Kansas Open Records Act. The official custodian shall display or distribute or otherwise make available to the public the brochure at one or more places in the administrative offices of the city where it is available to members of the public who request public information in person.

(Code 2014)

1-603 Local freedom of information officers.

The Local Freedom of Information Officer shall:

(a)Prepare and provide educational materials and information concerning the Kansas Open Records Act;

(b)Be available to assist the city and members of the general public to resolve disputes relating to the Kansas Open Records Act;

(c)Respond to inquiries relating to the Kansas Open Records Act;

(d)Establish the requirements for the content, size, shape, and other physical characteristics of a brochure required to be displayed or distributed or otherwise made available to the public under the Kansas Open Records Act. In establishing such requirements for the content of the brochure, the Local Freedom of Information Officer shall include plainly written basic procedures for inspecting and obtaining a copy of public records under the Act.

(Code 2014)

1-604 Public request for access.

All city offices keeping and maintaining open public records shall establish office hours during which any person may make a request for access to an open public record. Such hours shall be no fewer than the hours each business day the office is regularly open to the public. For any city office not open Monday through Friday, hours shall be established by the record custodian for each such day at which time any person may request access to an open public record.

(Code 2014)

1-605 Facilities for public inspection.

All city offices keeping and maintaining open public records shall provide suitable facilities to be used by any person desiring to inspect and/or copy an open public record. The office of the city clerk, being the principal record keeper of the city, shall be used as the principal office for providing access to and providing copies of open records to the maximum extent practicable. Requesters of records shall be referred to the office of the city clerk except when requested records are not in that office and are available in another city office.

(Code 2014)

1-606 Procedures for inspection.

Any person requesting access to an open public record for purposes of inspecting or copying such record, or obtaining a copy thereof, shall abide by the procedures adopted by the governing body for record inspection and copying, including those procedures established by record custodians and authorized by the governing body. Such procedures shall be posted in each city office keeping and maintaining open public records.

(Code 2014)

1-607 Appointment of official custodian.

The city clerk is hereby appointed as official custodian for purposes of the Kansas Open Records Act and is hereby charged with responsibility for compliance with that Act with respect to all public records.

(Code 2014)

1-608 Appointment of local freedom of information officer.

The city clerk, or the deputy city clerk in the clerk’s absence, is hereby appointed as the local freedom of information officer and charged with all of the duties as set forth in Section 1-603.

(Code 2014)

1-609 Designation of additional record custodians.

(a)Each of the official custodians appointed in Section 1-607 is hereby authorized to designate any subordinate officers or employees to serve as record custodian. Such record custodians shall have such duties and powers as are set out in the Kansas Open Records Act.

(b)Whenever an official custodian shall appoint another person as a record custodian, he or she shall notify the city clerk of such designation and the city clerk shall maintain a register of all such designations.

(Code 2014)

1-610 Requests to be directed to freedom of information officer.

All members of the public, in seeking access to, or copies of, a public record in accordance with the provisions of the Kansas Open Records Act, shall address their requests to the Freedom of Information Officer.

(Code 2014)

1-611 Fee administration.

The city clerk is hereby authorized to provide the clerk’s office with sufficient cash to enable the making of change for record fee purposes. The clerk shall transmit all record fee moneys to the city treasury not less than monthly. The clerk shall maintain duplicates of all records and copy request forms, completed as to the amount of fee charged and collected.

(Code 2014)

1-612 Inspection fee.

(a)Where a request has been made for inspection of any open public record which is readily available to the record custodian, there shall be no inspection fee charged to the requester.

(b)In cases not covered by subsection (a) of this section, a record inspection fee shall be charged at a rate of $20.00 per hour per employee engaged in the record search. A minimum charge of $10.00 shall be charged for each such request.

(Code 2014)

1-613 Copying fee.

(a)A fee of $.25 per page may be charged for photocopying public records, such fee to cover the cost of labor, materials, and equipment.

(b)For copying any public records which cannot be reproduced by the city’s photocopying equipment, the requester shall be charged the actual cost to the city, including staff time, in reproducing such records.

(Code 2014)

1-614 Prepayment of fees.

The record custodian shall demand prepayment of the fees established by this article. The prepayment amount shall be an estimate of the inspection and/or copying charges that will be accrued in fulfilling the record request. Any overage or underage in the prepayment shall be settled prior to the inspection of the requested record or delivery of the requested copies.

(Code 2014)

1-615 Payment.

All fees charged under this article shall be paid to the custodian of the records inspected and/or copied unless the requester has established an account for purposes of billing and payment with the city.

(Code 2014)