APRA procedures (Newport City Clerk)
| Submitted | March 31, 2014 |
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Communications
From: Shawn Musgrave
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act ("APRA"), I hereby request the following records:
Written procedures for access to the agency’s public records, including any records request forms required or suggested by the agency
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Silvia, Kathy
Hi, Shawn,
I am responding to your request for information on how the City of
Newport deals with requests for information under RI-APRA and the FOI
Act.
Attached please find the procedures and form that we make available to
persons seeking public information. However, the form is not a
requirement; the request can be made orally, or by e-mail, which is most
often the case.
The request come to the City Clerk, who then forwards it to the
department that would have the information. The department head is
advised by which date the response must be made (to meet the 10 business
day requirement). The department head has the option of responding to
the inquirer directly with the information, and providing a copy of the
response to the city clerk, or forwarding the information to the city
clerk who then will respond to the inquirer. If an inquiry is made
under APRA or FOI directly to a department, the department head will
notify me so that I can track it. If the information requested cannot
be gathered within the ten days, the city clerk notifies the inquirer,
the reason(s) why, and requests an extension, as allowed under the law.
The city clerk keeps track of the dates on which responses are due and
notifies the department as the deadline approaches to ensure compliance.
Once the response is made to the inquirer and the inquirer is satisfied,
the request is "closed" and filed.
As an fyi, the attached information was on our website; however, with
the recent launching of our new website, the forms were missed.
Currently, when one clicks on "Request for Public Records," it links to
"Service Request," which is not quite the same. However, we have
received requests for public information through "service request" and
responded. We are in the process of having the matter rectified so that
when one clicks on Request for Public Records the attached documents
will appear.
I hope this information is helpful and what you are seeking. This
information is provided free of charge.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Kathy Silvia
City Clerk
From: Silvia, Kathy
Subject: RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS 04/04/2014 14:54
You can now get the information and form in two places on-line: "Public
Records" on the homepage, and again under Departments/City Clerk.
Kathy
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