§ 2-17. Procedure.

(a)

Any employee receiving a records request shall notify the requestor that any public records requests are to be made to the city clerk's office with the exception of the police and fire departments. The police department and fire department records custodians may provide copies directly to the public of arrest reports, accident reports, internal investigation reports and rescue reports which are subject to release following redaction of any exempt information. The supervisor of administrative services is designated as the records custodian for the South Daytona Police Department. The office manager is designated as the records custodian for the South Daytona Fire Department.

(b)

The city clerk or designee will reduce any verbal request to writing in order to assist staff in determining the exact scope of the request. Requestors should specify whether they wish to inspect records or obtain copies. The city clerk or designee will forward the completed document/form to the appropriate department. Department heads receiving the public records request will respond in a reasonable time as to whether they have any documents and what the estimated amount of retrieval time will be. If any documents are stored off-site, the department will promptly notify the city clerk's office as to the estimated time for retrieval. The city will within a reasonable time make every effort to respond fully to all public records requests and the city clerk's office will be responsible for monitoring timely performance.

(c)

If departments that have records in their possession indicate that cumulatively the retrieval of the records will take more than thirty (30) minutes, the city clerk or designee will contact the requestor with an estimated additional labor charge for the retrieval. The city clerk or designee will confirm that the requestor is willing to pay the labor charges and copying charges, if any. In the event the estimated cost is fifty dollars ($50.00) or more, the requestor must pay the estimated cost to the city in advance of the city providing the requested public records.

(d)

Requests for documents, which may contain information that is exempt from disclosure under Florida law, may be delayed until the records can be reviewed and redacted as necessary by the custodian of the records. The city attorney's office shall be contacted for clarification of exemptions under F.S. ch. 119.

(e)

Florida law provides a retention schedule for public records. All records will be retained and destroyed in accordance with F.S. § 257.36(5) and in strict compliance with the Division of Library and Information Services of the Department of State. In no event shall staff proceed with destruction of records that are the subject of a current public records request or records that are currently involved in pending litigation. Any employee desiring to destroy records will contact the city clerk or designee. The city clerk or designee will ensure the required retention period has been met via the State of Florida Records Retention Schedules. All records will be retained for at least the minimum retention period required by the State of Florida. The city clerk or designee will retain a copy of all State of Florida records retention publications and schedules.

(f)

The custodian is not required to create public records to respond to a request from the public for inspection or copying. The custodian is not required to reformat records to respond to a request for inspection or copying.

(g)

The city shall provide access to public records during normal working hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. At all times records will be inspected, reviewed and copied under the direction of the city clerk, or designee, pursuant to F.S. § 119.07(4)(d).

(Ord. No. 08-20, § 1, 9-23-08)