Open Records Policy
In order to comply with the Open Records Act contained in Chapter 61 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, the following rules and regulations shall be followed by the City of Auburn:
A. All requests for inspection of public records of the City of Auburn may be submitted to the City Clerk’s office, 103 E Main Street, P. O. Box 465, Auburn, KY 42206,
openrecords@auburnky.us
Requests may be sent by mail, submitted in person, or electronically. The request must be in writing and include the following information:
1. Name, telephone number, and signature of the individual requesting to inspect the records.
2. Mailing address, if requesting the records be mailed, or email address if requesting electronically.
3. The specific record(s) the requestor wishes to inspect or to receive a copy of.
4. Whether the records are requested for commercial or noncommercial use.
If requested for commercial use, a certified statement stating the commercial purpose for which the records will be used.
B. The City of Auburn is committed to providing the most efficient and “green” option for Open Records copies. Whenever possible we will offer electronic copies (PDF format) as an option for records copy transmission at no charge to recipient requestor (unless there are recoverable costs as set out in the paragraph below). Records shall be made available for review and/or copies within the five-day required response period unless a different timeframe is specified in the response due to the increased time it may take to recover documents from archives, computer record search, the involvement of multiple departments, volume of responsive records, records are in current use, or other designated reason for a response time of greater than five days.
This policy provides guidance in applying standard charges and formats for Open Record copies consistent with Kentucky Open Records law and subsequent Attorney Generals Opinions. The City is entitled to recover actual costs (not staff time) related to providing copies of records. Those recoverable costs may include costs to copy materials prior to provision in another format with cost recovery of $0.10/page. For example, if a record copy is made in order to redact certain information prior to providing the copy (even if that copy is ultimately provided in an electronic format), since the City incurred a copy cost in order to provide the record, the requestor will be required to pay for that copy cost prior to receiving final copies.
In addition, if electronic copies requested impose an unreasonable burden on the City email and/or storage capacity, the City may inform the requestor and download copies to CDs or other format and charge accordingly. If requestor supplies medium (CD, audio tape, etc.), there will be no charge for copies transferred thereto (unless the hard copy charge described above is applicable).
Copies requested and sent via fax will not carry any charge unless deemed voluminous by the City at which time the City will suggest to the requestor that another method be employed. Again, the hard copy charge may apply for recoverable costs.
All departments, other than those that are set by state statute i.e. Police Reports, will apply the following charges regardless of status of requestor, i.e., media, legal representative, member of the public, corporation or non-profit organization. However, the City may use its discretion in waiving these charges which are not mandatory, if the total fee amounts to $2.00 or less.
When charges are applicable, no copies will be released until payment has been received either in the form of a check, exact change in cash, or money order. There is no option to "bill" or "invoice" a requestor for copies.
This policy will not apply to subpoena or court-ordered responses which are not covered under Kentucky Open Records law. Responses in those instances will provide copies at no charge.
These charges may or may not apply to other City of Auburn departmental responses for records or other copies provided in the normal course of business unrelated to an open records request. In special cases where items are not listed and the City incurs actual costs related to making copies, that cost will be estimated and passed along to the requestor.
No charge may be levied for staff time required to reproduce Open Record copies
unless for a Commercial Use Request
OR Attorney Requested Body Camera footage. Please see the Fee Schedule for detailed copying and postage charges.
C. Certain records are not public records. Those which are not public are specified in federal and state law or rulings of the attorney General or Courts. The City of Auburn will not make those exempted records available for public inspection.