Right to Know (Open Records)

Open Records Policy

Falls Township adopted this policy pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104 (“RTKL”) as of January 1, 2009.

All the information below can be found on the PA Office of Open Records at https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/.  

Requests

Requesters should submit in writing using Falls Township’s Right-to-Know form or the RTKL Uniform Request Form available on the Agency website, https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/, and be addressed to the Open Records Officer by fax, electronic mail, regular mail or in person. The Falls Township Municipal building is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  When filling out the request, please be as specific and concise as possible.  Make sure you are seeking records, not asking questions.  The law governs the release of records, not answering questions.  Not all records are public records.  

Response

The Township upon receipt of a request shall make a good faith effort to determine if the record requested is a public record and whether the Township has possession, custody or control of the identified record and to respond as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at the time of the request.  

The Township has five business days to respond to your request.  The clock starts the day the request was received by the Open Records Officer.  If received after regular business hours, the request shall be deemed received on the next business day. The Township will respond in writing to: 1) grant the request, 2) deny the request (citing the legal basis for denial/partial denial) or 3) invoke a 30-day extension for certain reasons.  If the Township does not respond to your request in the allotted time, the request is deemed denied, and you have the right to file an appeal with the Office of Open Records. 

Fees

The Office of Open Records (OOR) establishes a fee structure for Commonwealth agencies and local agencies. The RTKL requires the OOR to review the fee structure biannually.

Appeals Process

If the Township denies a record, or a portion of a record, the requestor can file an appeal with the Office of Open Records within 15 business days of the mailing date of the Township’s response.  Appeals should be sent to the Office of Open Records, 333 Market Street, 16^th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333.  They may also be submitted via facsimile to 717-425-5343 or via email to openrecords@pa.gov as a Microsoft Word or PDF attachment.

All appeals must be in writing and state the following information: A copy of the RTK request, a copy of the Township’s response, state the grounds upon which the requestor asserts that the requested records is a public record and address any grounds stated by the Township.

Appeals: Office of Open Records  

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Office of Open Records
Commonwealth Keystone Building
333 Market Street, 16^th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Phone: 717-346-9903

Fax: 717-425-5343
Web Site: www.openrecords.pa.gov
E-mail: openrecords@pa.gov