ARTICLE III. PROCEDURES
All requests for public records must be specific as to the records sought, including the subject matter, types of records, dates covered, and applicable departments/personnel. All requests shall be made in writing upon a form provided by the Office of the City Clerk and available at the City’s web page. Requests for documents must identify, to the extent reasonably practicable, applicable time periods and names or titles of parties to the documents. For any request, which the Official Custodian deems to be vague, lacks clarity or is overly broad, he/she may require a more specific written request before incurring time or expense in preparing a response or making public records available for inspection to the Applicant.
Sec. 1-22. Excessive, burdensome, or harassing requests.
In order to prevent unnecessary interference with the regular operational duties of the Office of the City Clerk, there is imposed a limit of three (3) separate items per request. The City reserves the right to process multiple requests in groups of three (3). The City reserves the right to not respond to that portion of any communication that contains demeaning, harassing, or threatening language, or consists of interrogatories, editorials, or other such comments, which do not constitute a public records request. (C.R.S. 24-72-202(6))
Sec. 1-23. Format of data.
To the extent required by law records, including digital records in a sortable or searchable format, will be provided in the format requested by the Applicant. Applicants who submit electronic requests for records available on the City's website shall receive a link to the records location. If the Applicant desires copies of the records, they shall be provided upon Applicant's payment of all copying and mailing costs.
Sec. 1-24. Manipulation of data.
The City is not required to create any new public record in response to a request. Records and data need only be provided in the format in which they currently exist. In the event that the City, in its sole discretion, consents to any manipulation of data, the Applicant will be charged a fee not exceeding the actual cost of manipulating the data and generating the record in accordance with the Applicants request.
Sec. 1-25 Duplication of records.
The City will not screen requests from the same Applicant in order to avoid duplication of records. It is the Applicant's responsibility to ensure that the requests are not duplicative. In the event duplicate records are provided, no refunds will be provided.
Sec. 1-26. "Continuing requests."
Requests made for records that are not yet in existence or requests that a record be made on a continuing or periodic basis will not be fulfilled as they do not constitute a public record. (C.R.S. 24-72-202 (6)).
Sec. 1-27. Possession, control, and protection of City records.
In order to protect City records, no original records may be removed from the files or taken from the site designated by the Official Custodian for inspection. The City reserves the right to require supervision of the inspection and copying and will charge the research and retrieval fee for the staff time involved in the performance of such duties. The Official Custodian may authorize the Applicant to copy public records using the Applicant's own equipment (e.g., cell phone camera), but such authorization must be made prior to any copying. Under appropriate circumstances, to be determined by the Official Custodian, the City may, at its option, provide a computer for use by the Applicant. The City reserves the right to withdraw records being inspected, or sought to be inspected by the public, for operational purposes. The City reserves the right to prosecute anyone who intentionally destroys, defaces, or alters public records or without authorization from the Official Custodian removes public records from the City's premises.
Sec. 1-28. Office hours for inspection of public records.
Upon scheduling with the Office of the City Clerk, public records shall be open for inspection generally between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, except City observed holidays or during City facility closures: The Official Custodian may abbreviate the hours on any given day if the Official Custodian deems that the request to inspect public records unduly interferes with the operational duties of the Office of the City Clerk.
Sec. 1-29. Time to respond to Open Records Requests.
Pursuant to the terms of the Act, the City shall make the public records requested available within three (3) full business days, unless extenuating circumstances exist, in which case, up to an additional seven (7) business days may be added. A finding of extenuating circumstances shall be made in writing by the Official Custodian, and shall be provided to the Applicant.
Sec. 1-30. Allowance or denial of inspection.
The Official Custodian shall adhere to the requirements and procedures of the Act and applicable Colorado case law when determining whether to allow, redact or deny any public records request or any part thereof, and though disclosure is generally favored, grounds for non-disclosure include, but are not limited to: inspection would be contrary to state or federal law or regulation; release of the record would violate a court order; or disclosure would be contrary to public interest. The Official Custodian's decision shall be final for purposes of appeal under Colorado law.
Sec. 1-31. Abandoned requests.
Failure to inspect the public records at the agreed upon time and place will be deemed an abandoned request. The City may return the records to their proper locations within two (2) business days, or a shorter period if needed by the City for any use. Upon the records return inspection of such records requires submittal of a new request.