OIG L&I 9/2/21

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Re: OIG investigations involving L&I 1/1/16-8/31/21 Your receipt number is: 13797 Dear requests@muckrock.com,

Thank you for your correspondence. This is an automatic email confirming that your correspondence has been entered into our case management system for processing and response. Did you know that the City already releases a lot of information and open data online? You might be able to find the answer to your inquiry right now!


Here are some common types of requests we receive and where to find this information online right now:  

Search for a property's L&I related permits, licenses, violations, and appeals with the L&I property history tool. 

Search for a property's Real Estate Tax Balance with the Revenue Department's tax real estate lookup tool. 

Find all of the City of Philadelphia's open data sets, including City employee salary data, on Open Data Philly, the Philadelphia region's open data portal. 

Search information about professional service contracts online at eContract Philly. 

Search information about procurement contracts online with PHL Contracts. 

Search City legislation and related hearings online with Legistar. 

Obtain financial disclosure forms from the Department of Records. 


If you seek a police incident report, you can obtain the proper form from the Department of Records. Please note that police incident reports cost $25.  If you seek audio, visual, or bodycam records from the Philadelphia Police Department, you will need to make a request following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. Sec. 67A03 at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=67A. Such requests are not processed under the Right-to-Know Law.   Use the forms on this page to request copies of public safety reports from the Department of Records:
The form for requesting a copy of a traffic accident report The form for requesting a records check or letter of good conduct from the Philadelphia Police Department The form for requesting a Fire Report The form for requesting an Emergency Medical Services Report The City of Philadelphia does not process Right-to-Know requests for the organizations listed below. If you want to submit a request to one of these entities, please click the links below to be directed to their Open Records Policies: 

Philadelphia Parking Authority 


School District of Philadelphia 


City of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office 


Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority 


First Judicial District (Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas) 


If one of these sources has solved your inquiry, please let us know! Otherwise, thank you for your patience, and we will be in touch soon.  Sincerely, The City of Philadelphia Please Note: To help make sure that future emails from us don't end up in your spam or junk folder, please add this email address to your safe sender list.

VIA EMAIL: requests@muckrock.com Re: OIG investigations involving L&I 1/1/16-8/31/21 Request #: 13797 Dear Robert Skvarla, Jr.: Thank you for writing to the City of Philadelphia (City) on  Sep 3, 2021 with your inquiry* regarding: "All complaints filed with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) involving Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) in the period of 1/1/2016 through 8/31/2021. This request includes (but should not be limited to) any information covering formal complaints and OIG determinations and recommendations; withdrawn complaints and, if applicable, terms of the withdrawal; and all publicly-releasable information from OIG investigations into L&I resulting from complaints." Your request is granted in part and denied in part. Responsive records may be found online at: https://www.phila.gov/media/20181127111742/LI-Demolition-Inspection-Activity-Audit.pdf Your request on its face seeks records relating to a noncriminal investigation, which are expressly exempted from disclosure under the RTKL and will not be disclosed in response to your request. 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(17); accord Zacher v. Pennsylvania State Police, OOR Docket No. AP 2009-0539 (Pa. OOR July 24, 2009). The noncriminal investigation exemption includes, but is not limited to, “investigative materials, notes, correspondence and reports.” 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(17). To the extent the record requested relates to an investigation that is criminal in nature, your request is further denied pursuant to Section 708(b)(16). Additionally, records reflecting “complaints submitted to an agency” in connection with noncriminal investigations are expressly exempt from disclosure under the RTKL.  65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(17)(i).  Your request is further denied to the extent the records requested reflect and/or contain personally identifying information pursuant to 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(6)(i)(A), including the home addresses of individuals.   This correspondence will close your request with our office as permitted by law. Respectfully, Feige M. Grundman Pronouns: she/her   Divisional Deputy City Solicitor - Right to Know Legislative Unit City of Philadelphia Law Department One Parkway Building, 17th Floor 1515 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 *Written requests for records to state and local agencies in Pennsylvania are generally governed by the Commonwealth’s Right to Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq. In accordance with RTKL, the City has promulgated an Open Records Policy, which requires use of the standard statewide Right to Know Form for the submission of written requests pursuant to RTKL (“RTK Requests”). See 65 P.S. § 67.504(a); Dekok v. Lancaster County, AP 2010-1197, 2011 PA O.O.R.D. LEXIS 25 at *5 and n.1 (Pa. O.O.R. Jan. 17, 2011) (holding that in accordance with RTKL, an agency may adopt a policy requiring the use of the standard statewide form established by the Office of Open Records in order to file an RTK Request); accord Pa. Gaming Control Bd. v. Office of Open Records, 48 A.3d 503 (Pa. Commw. 2012). This policy is available online at http://www.phila.gov/privacy/pdfs/FinalCityOpenRecords.pdf. To the extent you intended to submit an RTK Request, your request is denied as you have not complied with the City’s Open Records Policy. As your request was not submitted on or with the standard statewide form, the City does not consider your request to be a RTK Request pursuant to RTKL and has processed it as an informal request. The City nonetheless referred to RTKL for guidance in determining whether records should be released in response to your request.

On
Fri, Sep 3 at 8:52 PM
, City of Philadelphia Right to Know <righttoknow@phila.gov> wrote:
THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Dear requests@muckrock.com, Thank you for your correspondence. This is an automatic response to let you know that the City will process your request and respond further within five business days of its receipt by an Open Records Officer. Please note that requests received after 5PM are deemed received the next business day.