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Community Access to Public Records

STATEMENT OF POLICY

The purpose of this policy is to establish and provide for the enforcement of reasonable rules governing the examination or the making of extracts, copies, photographs or photocopies of Montgomery Housing Authority (“MCHA”) records that are public records or to which the public may have access as defined below. The MCHA shall post at the administration building and on the MCHA web site, information regarding this policy as required by law.

Procedures regarding this policy are promulgated in the administrative regulation related to this policy.

PROVISIONS

Open Records Officer:

The Board shall designate the Executive Director or his designee as the Open Records Officer, who shall be responsible for enforcing MCHA policy regarding public access to MCHA records.

General:

1. The MCHA shall not limit the number of records requested.

2. When responding to a request for access, the MCHA is not required to create a record
that does not exist nor to compile, maintain, format or organize a record in a manner which the MCHA does not currently use.

Records Requests:

1. The MCHA shall not require an explanation of the reason for the request of records or the intended use of the requested record, unless permitted by law.

2. Original MCHA records shall not be removed from the MCHA building, nor from the control or supervision of the Open Records Officer or his/her designee.

Fees:

1. Fees for duplication and other forms of document response and, where permitted by law, document retrieval will be charged according to a fee schedule which shall be periodically updated and included in a regulation issued pursuant to this policy.

2. No fee may be imposed for review of a record to determine whether the record is subject to access under law.

3. Prior to granting access, the MCHA may require prepayment of estimated fees when the fees required to fulfill the request are expected to exceed $100.