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15 - Fee Schedule District Clerk Costa Mesa Sanitary District …an Independent Special District Protecting our community’s health and the environment by providing solid waste and sewer collection services. www.cmsdca.gov Memorandum To: Board of Directors Via: Scott Carroll, General Manager From: Noelani Middenway, Deputy Clerk of the District Date: May 23, 2013 Subject: Public Records Act Request Policy and Adoption of Resolution 2013-831 Establishing Fees for Services Rendered by the Office of the District Clerk Summary Under the purview of the General Manager, Administrative Regulation No. 60.00 has been created to formalize a Public Records Act Request Policy for the purpose of establishing procedures to facilitate accessibility of information to members of the public. The Office of the District Clerk has created a resolution to establish fees for services that it renders. Staff Recommendation That the Board of Directors: 1. Receive and file Administrative Regulation No. 60.00 establishing the Public Records Act Request policy and procedures to facilitate accessibility of information to members of the public. 2. Adopt Resolution No. 2013-831 setting fees and charges for duplicating District information. Analysis The Office of the District Clerk is the custodian of records for the District. The public’s right to access information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental ITEM NO. 15 Board of Directors May 23, 2013 Page 2 of 2 and necessary right. The Office of the District Clerk is obligated to respond to requests for records within ten days of receipt of the request notifying the requestor of the records, if any, that are available for their review. There are direct costs incurred by the Office of the District Clerk when reproducing records. It is the desire of the District Clerk to formalize and establish fees for services rendered. The proposed fees are less than or equal to, but in no event greater than, the actual cost and expenses incurred by the District in performing the services connected with such fees, in accordance with Government Code Section 6253(b). Strategic Plan Element & Goal This item complies with the objective and strategy of Strategic Element 5.0., Administrative Management, which states: “Ob jective: To create, maintain and implement policies and procedures to ensure sound management of the District.” “Strategy: We will conduct periodic reviews, refine and implement policies and procedures, and assure the General Manager has the direction and tools necessary for successful District operations.” Legal Review District Counsel has reviewed and approved the proposed Public Records Act Policy and resolution establishing fees for services rendered by the Office of the District Clerk. Financial Review Staff anticipates that the District will generate annually $3 00 for collecting fees and charges for duplicating District information. Public Notice Process Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the entire agenda packet for the May 23, 2013 Board of Directors regular meeting at District headquarters and on District’s website. Alternative Actions 1. Refer the matter back to staff to provide additional information. Attachment A: Resolution No. 2013-831 B: Administrative Regulations No. 60.00 – Public Records Act Request Policy ITEM NO. 15 RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -831 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING FEES FOR SERVICES RENDERED BY THE OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT CLERK . WHEREAS, the Board of Directors desires to approve a fee schedule and establish the effective date of said fees for services rendered by the District Clerk’s Office; WHEREAS, the proposed fees have been considered at a duly noticed public meeting as required by law; and WHEREAS, the Board of D irectors hereby finds that said fees, in the amount hereinafter set forth in Exhibit “A”, are less than or equal to , but in no event greater than, the actual direct costs and expenses incurred by the District in performing the services connected with such fees in accordance with California Government Code Section 6253(b); and WHEREAS, the Board of Directors further finds and determines that this establishment of fees is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Sect ion 21080 (b)8 of the California Public Resources Code. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District as follows: The fees set for t h in the fee schedule attached hereto as Exhibit “A” shall be, and the same are hereby adopted. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District at a regular meeting thereof held on the 23 rd day of May 2013. _________________________ _______________________ Secretary President STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS CITY OF COSTA MESA ) I, Scott Carroll, Clerk of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, hereby certify that the above and foregoing Resolution No. 2013 -8___, was duly and regularly passed and adopted by said Board of Directors at a regular meeting thereof held on the 23rd day of May 2013. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District, this _______ day of __________________2013. _________________________________ Clerk of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District Exhibit A District Clerk’s Office Fees for Services and Documents Copies $.10 per page Copies from Document Imaging System $.75 per page Copies from Compact Disk $.75 per page Copy of Agenda Packet on Compact Disk $5.00 per disk FPPC Documents $.10 per page $5.00 per request if report over 5 years old and in storage Certification of Copies $2.50 Retrieval of Records from Off -Site Storage (Vendor Fee) $25.00 per box Audio Recording of Board Meeting $10.00 per recording Notary Services $1 0.00 per notarization Costa Mesa Sanitary District Adm inistrative Regulations No. 60.00 Date Approved: May 23 , 2013 SUBJECT: Public Records Act Request Policy PURPOSE: E stablish procedures to facilitate accessibility of information to members of the public I. Purp ose The pur po se of this policy is to affirm the public’s right to access District records and to set forth the procedures that will facilitate accessibility of information to members of the public. II. Policy The public’s right to access information c oncerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right. A record shall not be withheld from disclosure unless it is exempt under applicable laws, or the public interest served by not making the record public clearly outweighs t he public interest served by disclosure of the record. The California Public Records Act permits local agencies to adopt regulations stating the procedures to be followed when making their records available to the public. The Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD) General Manager desires to establish a formal written policy affirming the public’s right to access CMSD records and to set forth the procedures by which such records will be made available to the public. The General Manager is mindful of the constit utional right of privacy accorded to individuals and it is the intent of the General Manager to promulgate a policy that strikes an appropriate balance between the objectives of open government and the individual’s right of privacy. This policy supplements Chapter 1.07 of the CMSD Operations Code. III. Procedures A. Records Available for Inspection and Copying Records available for inspection and copying inc l ude any writing containing infor m ation relating to the con d uct of the publi c ’s business th a t is prep ared, owned, used, or retained by the District , regar d less o f the physical form and characterist i cs. The records do not have to be written but m ay be in another for m at that c ontains information such as co m puter tape or disc or video or audio recording. “W riting” includes any handwr i ting, typewriting, printing, p hotostatting , photographing, and every other m eans of recording upon any form of communication or representation such as letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, as well as all papers, m aps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic fil m s and prints, and electronic m ail. B. Locating and Identifying Records Public records are open to inspection at all times during regular District business hours. The District Clerk’s Office maintain s a centrali zed r ecord keeping system. The District Public Records Act Request Page 2 of 4 Clerk or his/her representative is responsible for responding to requests for records and coordinating the resp onse , when appropriate. The District Clerk or his/her representative shall also, to the extent reasonably practicable, assist the public in making focused and effective requests for records and information. In order to ac complish this the District Clerk or his/her representative shall: (1) assist the member of the public with identification of records and inf ormation that are responsive to the request or the purpose of the request, if known; (2) describe the information technology and physical location in which the records exist; and (3) provide suggestions for overcoming any practical basis for denying the re quest. C. Making a Request for Records Requests should be made in writing and must contain a reasonable description of the desired records in order to expedite processing of the request. Request can be made using email, via CMSD’s website at www.cmsdca.gov , or members of the public can download a Public Records Act Request form from CMSD’s website and fax said form to (714) 650 -2253. D. Form of Records Provided Records shall be made available in their original form or by a true and correct copy. Audio, photographic and computer data, or any other such records, shall be exact replicas unless the District Clerk or his/her representative determines it is impracticable to provide exact replicas. Any reasonably segregable portio n of a record shall be provided to the public after deletion of portions that are deemed exempt from disclosure. E. Time for Response Upon receipt of a written or or al request for records, CMSD shall make the records promptly available to the requestor. In c ases where the records are not readily identifiable or accessible, or additional time is needed to determine whether the request in whole or in part seeks copies of disclosable records, CMSD will have ten (10) calendar days to provide its determination. Th e ten (10) day time period shall be calculated from the date the request is received. In unusual circumstances, CMSD may extend its time to respond by an additional fourteen (14) calendar d ays. Should this occur, CMSD will inform the requestor in writing of the extension within the initial ten (10) day period, setting forth the reasons for the extension, along with the estimated date of CMSD ’s further response. Unusual circumstances permitting the extension of time are limited to: (1) the need to search fo r and collect the requested records from facilities separate from the office processing the request; (2) the need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that have been asked for in a single re quest; (3) the need for consultation with another department or another agency that has a substantial interest in the response to the request; and/or (4) the need to compile data, to write programming language or a computer program, or to construct a compu ter report to extract data. If a written request for information is denied in whole or in part, the denial shall be in writing and shall contain the explicit rea sons for denial of access . Public Records Act Request Page 3 of 4 F. Fees and Charges In most situations, CMSD will not charge any f ees to cover the time and costs incurred in searching for, locating or collecting records. CMSD , however, may charge for the actual costs of duplicating paper copies of records and postage, consiste nt wi th the amounts set forth in the adoption of CMSD Reso lution No. 2013 -831 . CMSD may also charge for duplication costs in another medium in accordance with the amounts set forth in the resolution (e.g. copying video or cassette tapes). Requestors of electronic records shall pay for production costs, includin g the cost to construct the record and the cost of programming and computer services necessary to produce the copy if the request would require the production of a record that is otherwise only produced at regularly scheduled intervals, or the request woul d require data compilation, extraction, or programming to produ ce the record. However, CMSD will not charge for access to data that is readily accessible with out significant cost to CMSD . Attachment – Public Records Act Request Form Public Records Act Request Page 4 of 4 COSTA MESA SANITARY DISTRICT FAX (949) 650 -2253 PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST FORM DATE: _____________________________________ Requestor Address City/State/Zip Telephone Email Please p rovide a written description of the records you are requesting below. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to determine if such records exist in District files. Use additional sheets if needed.