Right-to-Know Law Policy

Williams Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, adopts this policy pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. 67.101-67.3104. Williams Township has made this policy available to the public at its office and on its public website along with the Office of Open Records Standard Right-to-Know Law Request form.

Open Records Officer
The township has designated the Officer and contact information at the top of this page.

General
Public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at the township office during normal business hours; Monday-Friday (9 AM - 12 PM), with the exception of township-designated holidays.

Requests
Requests submitted on the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records' Standard Right-to-Know Request Form will be accepted. Anonymous or verbal requests will not be considered.

Fees
Paper copies shall be $0.25 per page per side for black and white copies up to the first 1,000 pages and $0.20 beyond 1,000 pages and $0.50 for color copies. The certification of a record is $5 per record. Specialized documents, including but not limited to blueprints, color copies, and nonstandard-sized documents, shall be charged the actual cost of production. If mailing is requested, the cost of postage will be charged. All fees must be paid before documents are released. Prepayment is required if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.

Response
The Open Records Officer shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible and within RTKL's five business day timeframe. If the Open Records Officer cannot do so wtihin five business days, he/she is permitted to exercise a 30-day extension upon notifying the requester. The Open Records Officer shall cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original documents while taking reasonable measures to protect the original documents from the possibility of theft, damage, and/or modification. If the request is denied, the Open Records Officer will send the requester a letter stating 1) a description of the record requested; 2) the specific reasons for the denial, including a citation of supporting legal authority; 3) contact information for the Open Records Officer; 4) the date of the response; and 5) the procedure to appeal the denial.

Contact Information for Appeals
If a written request is denied, the requester has the right to file an appeal in writing to Executive Director, Office of Open Records, 333 Market St., 16th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17101.

Appeals Process
Appeals must be filed within 15 days of the mailing date of the township's response. Please note that a copy of the requester's original request and the township's denial letter must be included when filing an appeal. The law requires an appeal to include reasons why the record is a public record and to address the reasons for denial that the township stated in its denial letter. Visit the OOR's website at www.openrecords.pa.gov for additional information on filing an appeal.