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A. A person making a request for a record shall furnish the City with a written request containing his name, mailing address, daytime telephone number if available, and a description of the records requested that identifies the record with reasonable specificity.

B. As soon as reasonably possible, but no later than ten business days after receiving a written request, or five business days after receiving a written request if the requester demonstrates that expedited response to the record request benefits the public rather than the person, the City shall respond to the request by:

1. Approving the request and providing the record;

2. Denying the request;

3. Notifying the requester that it does not maintain the record and providing, if known, the name and address of where the record can be found; or

4. Notifying the requester that because of one of the extraordinary circumstances listed in subsection D of this section, it cannot immediately approve or deny the request. The notice shall describe the circumstances relied upon and specify the earliest time and date when the records will be available.

C. Any person who requests a record to obtain information for a story or report for publication or broadcast to the general public is presumed to be acting to benefit the public rather than a person.

D. The following circumstances constitute “extraordinary circumstances” that allow the City to delay approval or denial by an additional period of time as specified in subsection E of this section if the City determines that due to the extraordinary circumstances it cannot respond within the time limits provided in subsection B of this section:

1. Another governmental entity is using the record, in which case the City shall promptly request that the governmental entity currently in possession return the record;

2. Another governmental entity is using the record as part of an audit and returning the record before the completion of the audit would impair the conduct of the audit;

3. The request is for a voluminous quantity of records;

4. The City is currently processing a large number of records requests;

5. The request requires the City to review a large number of records to locate the records requested;

6. The decision to release a record involves legal issues that require the City to seek legal counsel for the analysis of statutes, rules, ordinances, regulations, or case law;

7. Segregating information that the requester is entitled to inspect from information that the requester is not entitled to inspect requires extensive editing; or

8. Segregating information that the requester is entitled to inspect from information that the requester is not entitled to inspect requires computer programming.

E. If one of the extraordinary circumstances listed in subsection D of this section precludes approval or denial within the time specified in subsection B of this section, the following time limits apply to the extraordinary circumstances:

1. For claims under subsection D1 of this section, the governmental entity currently in possession of the record shall return the record to the originating entity within five business days of the request for the return unless returning the record would impair the holder’s work.

2. For claims under subsection D2 of this section, the originating city shall notify the requester when the record is available for inspection and copying.

3. For claims under subsections D3 through 5 of this section, the City shall:

a. Disclose the records that it has located which the requester is entitled to inspect;

b. Provide the requester with an estimate of the amount of time it will take to finish the work required to respond to the request; and

c. Complete the work and disclose those records that requester is entitled to inspect as soon as reasonably possible.

4. For delays under subsection D6 of this section, the City shall either approve or deny the request within five business days after the response time specified for the original request has expired.

5. For delays under subsection D7 of this section, the City shall fulfill the request within fifteen business days from the date of the original request.

6. For delays under subsection D8 of this section, the City shall complete its programming and disclose the requested records as soon as reasonably possible.

F. If the City fails to provide the requested records or issue a denial within the specified time period, that failure is considered the equivalent of a determination denying access to the records. (Ord. 93-18 § 7, 1993)