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The following policy is hereby established by Montgomery Township in regard to reviewing Township records and files:
- Official records and files are to be reviewed during the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm.
- Official ordinance book and minute books may be reviewed during these hours without prior notice. Review, however, must be done at the convenience of the office personnel; therefore, appointments are required.
- Township files and other unbound material may be reviewed during the above hours, however, a prior appointment must be made with the Township Secretary or proper office staff. Request for review of any files or "public records" must be made in writing on the Township Record Request Form to the “Township Secretary, 1001 Stump Road, Montgomeryville, PA 18936. Written requests shall include the date of the request, the name and address of the requester, and a clear and specific description as to which documents or records are to be reviewed. It must also be understood that it is not the responsibility of the office personnel to research information requests, but only to provide information in the form that it is available.
Township Record Request Forms are available at the Montgomery Township Municipal Building and on the Montgomery Township Website at www.montgomerytwp.org.
- The Township Secretary shall review all written requests submitted on the Township Record Request Form(s) for access to public records. As soon as possible, but no later than five (5) business days after receiving a Township Record Form to access public records, the Township Secretary shall respond to all such requests in a manner consistent with Act 100 of 2002, the Open Records Law.
The response time of the Township may be extended beyond the five (5) business day period in the following circumstances.
- The request requires a redaction of a public record
- The request requires a retrieval of records stored in a remote location
- Bona fide and specified staffing limitations inhibit a timely response
- A legal review is necessary to determine if the record is a public record
- The requestor has not complied with the Township’s policies access or
- The requestor refuses to pay the applicable fees
If any of these exceptions apply, the Township shall respond to the request, in writing, within the five (5) business days to specify the reason for delay and provide an expected response date. The response time may be extended by up to an additional thirty (30) days.
- In the case of any material, records or files to be reviewed, the Township reserves the absolute right to oversee all reviews. In no case shall unbound record and file be reviewed alone without Township officials present. Therefore, persons wishing to review such records must respect the time availability of office personnel. Montgomery Township reserves the right to limit inspection periods to 1/2 hour per sitting, and the number of times per month that reviews can take place.
- Public Records, as defined by the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law are:
"Any account, voucher or contract dealing with the receipt or disbursement of funds by an agency or its acquisition, use or disposal of services or of supplies, materials, equipment or other property and any minute, order or decision by an agency fixing the personal or property rights, privileges, immunities, duties or obligations of any person or group of persons: Provided, that the term "public records" shall not mean any report, communication or other paper, the publication of which would disclose the institution, progress or result of an investigation undertaken by an agency in the performance of its official duties, expect those reports filed by agencies pertaining to safety and health in industrial plants; it shall not include any record, document, material, exhibit, pleading, report, memorandum or other paper access to or the publication of which is prohibited, restricted or forbidden by statute law or order or decree of court, or which would operate to the prejudice or impairment of a person's reputation or personal security, or which would result in the loss by the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivision or commissions or State or Municipal authorities of Federal funds, excepting therefrom however the record of any conviction for any criminal act.
- Persons seeking to review any files or records must state the specific documents being requested.
- Attorneys representing clients for the purpose of review must state the name of their clients and their address. If the client is a company, partnership, corporation, etc., the officers of the company must be identified.
- At no time shall any files or records be removed from the Township building.
- A request may be made to have copies of any files or records made by the Township. Copies will be made as soon as is practical by the Township, but at the Township's convenience. Appropriate charges will be made for all copied material, such price to be periodically established by the Township. Current charge at $.25 per page for non-priority work. If a disk is requested, it will be provided by the Township at the cost of $1.00 per disk. A new disk will be necessary each time records are provided. Fax copies will be available at the cost of $.50 per page. If “True and Correct Certification” is requested, an additional charge of $2.00 will be added. The Township will required prepayment if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.
In no case shall copying be done by the reviewer.
- Persons seeking copies of blueprints must be aware that the Township does not have the capability to copy blueprints. The Township will ask the engineer of the plan for a extra copy and will make that copy available at cost. Therefore, copies of blueprints will not be available for "rush" copying.
- If a written request is denied or deemed denied, the requested may file exceptions with the Board of Supervisors within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township’s denial. The exceptions shall state grounds on which the requestor asserts that the record is a public record and shall address any grounds stated by the Township for denying the request.
The Board of Supervisors shall make a “final determination” on the exceptions within 30 days of the mailing date of the exceptions. The Board of Supervisors may hold a hearing on the issue during the 30 days. If the Board determines that the denial was correct, it must provide a written explanation to the requester.
The requester may appeal a final determination to the Common Pleas Court or District Justice within 30 days of denial or final determination.
