Making a Public Records Request

A request for public records that are in the custody of Yamhill Soil & Water Conservation District may be made by submitting a written request to:

Allison Schwister
Office Administrator
2200 SW 2^nd Street, McMinnville, OR 97128
[email protected]

The request may be submitted in person, by mail, or by e-mail.

The request must:

• Include the name and contact information of the person requesting the public record,
• Include a sufficiently detailed description of the records requested to allow Yamhill Soil & Water Conservation District to search for and identify responsive records, including types of records, subject matter, approximate dates, names of organizations and/or people involved, etc.

The request should be dated.

PUBLIC RECORDS POLICY

Compliance

The District shall fully comply with the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410-192.505.

 Specificity of Request

In order to facilitate the public’s access to records in the District’s possession, and to avoid unnecessary expenditure of staff time, persons requesting access to public records for inspection or copying, or who submit written requests for copies of public records, shall specify the records requested with particularity, furnishing the dates, subject matter and such other detail as may be necessary to enable District personnel to readily locate the records sought.

Access

The District shall permit inspection and examination of its non-exempt public records during regular business hours in the District’s offices, or such other locations as the District Manager may reasonable designate from time to time. Copies of non-exempt public records maintained in machine readable or electronic form shall be furnished, if available, in the form requested. If not available in the form requested, such records shall be made available in the form in which they are maintained. ORS 192.440(2)

Fees for Public Records

Fees must be limited to no more than $25.00 unless the requestor is provided with a written notification of the estimated amount of the fee and the requestor confirms that they want the District to proceed.

In order to recover its costs for responding to public records requests, the following fee schedule is adopted by the District:

• Copies of Public Records; Certified Copies: Copies of public records shall be $.20 per copy for standard, letter size copies. Copies shall be certified for an additional charge of $1.00 per page.
• Copies of Sound Recordings: Copies of sound recordings of meetings shall be equal to the cost incurred by the District in producing each copy.
• Copies of Maps and Other Nonstandard Documents: Charges for copying maps or other nonstandard size documents shall be charged in accordance with the actual costs incurred by the District.
• Research Fees: If a request for records requires District personnel to spend more than 15 minutes searching or reviewing records prior to their review or release for copying, the minimum fee shall be $30.00 per hour and additional charges shall be in ¼ hour increments. The District shall estimate the total amount of time required to respond to the records request, and the person making the request shall make the payment for the estimated cost of the search and copying of the records in advance. If the actual time and costs are less than estimated, the excess money shall be refunded to the person requesting the records. If the actual costs and time are in excess of the estimated time, the difference shall be paid by the person requesting the records at the time the records are produced.
• Additional Charges: If a request is of such magnitude and nature that compliance would disrupt the District’s normal operation, the District may impose such additional charges as are necessary to reimburse the District for its actual costs of producing the records.
• Reduced Fee of Free Copies: Whenever it determines that furnishing copies of public records in its possession at a reduced fee or without costs would be in the public interest, the Board or District Manager may so authorize. ORS 192.440(4).

Authorization Required for Removal of Original Records

At no time shall an original record of the District be removed from the District’s files or the place at which the record is regularly maintained, except upon authorization of the Board or Executive Director.

On-Site Review of Original Records

If a request to review original records is made, the District shall permit such a review provided that search fees are paid in advance in accordance with the Fees for Public Records section, above. A representative shall be present at any time original records are reviewed, and the charges for standing by while the records are reviewed shall be the same as the charges for searching or reviewing records.

Unauthorized Alteration, Removal, or Destruction of Records

If any person attempts to alter, remove, or destroy any District record, the District representative shall immediately terminate such person’s review, and notify the attorney for the District.