Right-to-Know Law Policy
Dingman Township, Pike County adopts this policy pursuant to Section 504(a) of
the Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104. Dingman Township has made this
policy available to the public at its office(s)
and on its public website along
with the Township Request form.
Open Records Officer
The township hereby designates Susan Mikulak as the township’s Open Records
Officer. The Open Records Officer may be reached at 118 Fisher Lane, Milford PA
18337 or by FAX 570-296-2150 or the email listed on this
website.
The township hereby designates Robyn Ficken as the township’s alternate Open
Records Officer. The alternate Open Records Officer may be reached at 118 Fisher
Lane, Milford, PA 18337 or by FAX 570-296-2150 or the email listed on this
website.
General
Public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at
the township office during normal business hours Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM
to 3 PM with the exception of township-designated
holidays.
Requests
Requests shall be made in writing to the township’s Open Records Officer on a
form provided by the township. Requests submitted on the Pennsylvania Office of
Open Records’ Standard Right-to-Know Request Form will also be accepted.
Anonymous or verbal requests will not be considered.
Fees
Paper copies shall be $.25 per page per side for black and white copies up to
the first 1,000 pages and $.20 beyond 1,000 pages and $.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 will be
released. Prepayment is required if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.
The township may include
additional fees as provided in the OOR’s Fee Schedule.
Response
The Open Records Officer shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested
public record(s) as promptly as possible and within the RTKL’s five business day
timeframe.
If the Open Records Officer cannot do so within 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
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 of criminal records shall be made to the
District Attorney of Pike County.
Appeals Process
Appeals must be filed within 15 business 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.