Open Records Officer

The Township hereby designates Cindy Black as the township Open Records Officer. The Open Records Officer may be reached at 35 Auction Road, New Wilmington, PA  16142; Phone: 724-946-8074; Fax: 724-946-2903; Email: wilmingtontwp@gmail.com.

General

Public records shall be available for inspection, retrieval, and duplication at thetownship office during normal business hours: Tuesday - Thursday, 7 am - 3 pm, with the exception of designated holidays..

Requests

Requests shall be made in writing to the township's Open Records Officer on a form provided by the township and available on the township webite or by clicking  here.  Requests submitted on the Pennsylvania's 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.

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 the 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 requestor 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 fifteen (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 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.

WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP, MERCER COUNTY

 RIGHT-TO-KNOW POLICY