Procedure for Requesting Official Records

It is the policy and goal of Ridley Park Borough to be fully compliant with all laws and regulations regarding both Open Records and Open Meeting issues.

Contact Information:

Kevin Tobias, Open Records Officer
Borough of Ridley Park
105 E. Ward Street, Ridley Park, PA 19078

Phone: 610-532-2100
Fax: 610-532-2447
Procedure:

1. You are not required to give a reason for requesting a public document.
2. You may want to contact the borough office and simply ask if the document you need will require a formal Right-To-Know Request or if it is freely available.
3. If the Open Records Officer must review the document before releasing it, you will need to file a formal RTK Request.
4. Your RTK Request may be submitted in person, via postal mail, via fax or via email. However, there is a standard format for making a RTK Request, and your request must contain all of the pertinent information in order to be processed.
5. A standard Form – Uniform Request can be viewed and printed, or filled out electronically. Completed forms should be emailed to the borough Open Records Officer listed above.
6. The Borough may legally take up to five (5) business days to respond to your request.
7. You will be notified by mail regarding the status of your RTK Request. This notification will inform you if your documents will be released in full, released in part (possibly with redacted areas blacked out), or if the Borough needs more time time to find and gather the records together. You may also be informed that your request has been denied, in which case you may take further action as provided by under law, including making an appeal to the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg.
8. If you are informed that the Borough needs more time to collect and examine the records you have requested, the Borough may legally take up to thirty (30) days to comply with your request and make the records available to you.
9. Once the Borough has responded to your request, you may evaluate whether or not you feel the Borough’s response is appropriate. If, for example, your RTK Request is denied, it is your right to appeal to the Office of Open Records in Harrisburg. Please visit their website at http://openrecords.state.pa.us for further information regarding the appeals procedure.

Please note: If your request to receive paper copies of records (as opposed to simply viewing the documents in person), the Borough may legally charge you up to $0.50 cents per page for that service.

The Open Records Law contains many specific and many general provisions protecting your rights as a citizen. However, these provisions are all subject to interpretation in the courts when a case is tried. As a result, there are a number of legal precedents based upon case law that may affect how your Right-To-Know Request is responded to. There is information at the Open Records Office website regarding case law, but you may require the advice of an attorney if you feel that your request has not been responded to properly.

It is the policy and goal of Ridley Park Borough to be fully compliant with all laws and regulations regarding both Open Records and Open Meeting issues.