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Reso 1422 06/2013RESOLUTION NO. 1422 RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VALLECITOS WATER DISTRICT ESTABLISHING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT WHEREAS, pursuant to the California Public Records Act ( "CPRA ") found in sections 6250 et seq. of the Government Code of the State of California, the documents of the Vallecitos Water District ( "District ") are public records subject to certain exemptions in the CPRA; and WHEREAS, the District, in accordance with the CPRA and the public's right to full and prompt access to all public records in the custody of the District, hereby adopts the following procedures for accessing and requesting the District's public records NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the Vallecitos Water District as follows: Policies and Procedures for Accessing Public Records Policy: The public's right to access information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a fundamental and necessary right. A record shall not be withheld from disclosure unless it is exempt under applicable laws, or the public interest served by not making the record public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. The CPRA allows local agencies to adopt policies and procedures to be followed when making records available to the public. This written policy sets forth the procedures by which such records will be made available to the public. The District also recognizes the constitutional right to privacy accorded to individuals and this policy attempts to balance the individual's right of privacy with the goal of open government. Should a conflict arise between this policy and the provisions of the CPRA, the CPRA shall prevail. NOW THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of the District does hereby enact as follows: 1. Every request from a member of the public shall be marked with the date it is received by the District. Requests must be made in writing, and may be delivered in person or by service; regular, overnight or priority mail; or by electronic means (e -mail, facsimile transmission). A separate log of all CPRA requests shall be kept and maintained by the office of the General Manager. 2. Upon receipt of the request, the General Manager or designee shall make a preliminary inquiry as to the type(s) of records sought, and whether or not the District does in fact maintain records of the type(s) requested. 3. Upon receipt of the request, the General Manager or designee shall also provide a copy to District Counsel to provide a preliminary opinion on the Resolution No. 1422 Page 2 request which shall address whether the request as presented may seek records that are exempt from disclosure or inspection in whole or in part (under Cal. Government Code Sections 6254 ff). 4. If the District determines that any or all of the records sought by the requesting party are subject to any recognized exemption from inspection, it shall notify the requesting party in writing within ten (10) days of the date of receipt of the original request. The notification shall set forth all of the following: a. The specific grounds for the denial of the request to inspect, including which exemption(s) are deemed applicable. b. The name(s) and title(s) of any District personnel responsible for the denial of the request to inspect. 5. Records Exempt from Disclosure. In accordance with Government Code Section 6254 as amended from time to time, the following records are exempt from disclosure and shall not be disclosed. (This list is intended to be illustrative and does not include all exempted records, nor does it include records exempted pursuant to other provisions of law): a. Preliminary drafts, notes or interagency or intra- district memoranda which are not retained by the District in the ordinary course of business, provided that the public interest in withholding such records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. b. Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the District is a party, or to claims made under California Tort Claims Act (Government Code 810), until such litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled. c. Personnel, medical or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. d. The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates and evaluations made for or by the District relative to the acquisition of property, or to prospective public supply and construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been acquired or all of the contract agreements obtained, provided, however, the law of eminent domain shall not be affected by this provision. e. Information acquired from any vendor providing services or supplies to the District and the disclosure of the information to other persons would result in unfair competitive disadvantage to the person supplying such information. f. Customer account information, including contact information, credit history, and usage data. 6. Upon the preliminary determination that records responsive to the request are likely to exist, the General Manger or designee shall promptly transmit a copy of the particular request to the department(s) responsible for maintaining such Resolution No. 1422 Page 3 records. In addition to locating records responsive to the request, the General Manager or designee shall make a reasonable attempt to do all of the following: a. Assist the member of the public to identify records and information that are responsive to the request or to the purpose of the request, if stated. b. Describe the information technology and physical location in which the records exist. c. Provide suggestions for overcoming any practical basis for denying access to the records or information sought. 7. Within two (2) business days of the date forwarded to the department(s) believed responsible for maintaining the records requested, the department supervisor shall notify the General Manager or designee as to all of the following: a. The extent to which, if any, responsive records are in existence. b. The available formatting of the responsive records, whether maintained in hard copy, electronically stored digital format, microfiche, or other format. c. The approximate volume of said records, and the estimated time of compilation of same. 8. Within ten (10) days of the date of initial receipt of a request, the General Manager or designee shall acknowledge the request in writing. The written response shall identify, to the extent known, the available formatting of the responsive records, if any, and may include the following: a. Notification that the responsive documents have been compiled and are ready for inspection by the requesting party during normal business hours. b. The approximate volume of the documents compiled. c. Notification that a portion of the responsive documents have been compiled and are ready for inspection, along with a time estimate of when any remaining documents may be compiled for inspection and copying. d. The notification shall also include a brief explanation of the need for additional time and include an estimate of the additional compilation time required, if necessary, which shall not exceed fourteen (14) additional days from the date of the response. 9. If the requester asks for copies of the records, an estimate of the actual costs of copying the documents requested shall be based on: a. If copying is or can be accomplished in- house; duplication costs for printed copies of standard sized documents (up to 8' /z'x 11 "), shall be twenty -five cents per page; for oversized document copies (11" x 14" up to 11" x 17 "), the duplication cost shall be fifty cents per page, and for Resolution No 1422 Page 4 copies of documents larger than 11" x 17" (plans, plat maps), the duplication cost shall be one dollar and twenty five cents per page. Document copying which is accomplished by an outside vendor, on behalf of the District, shall be reimbursed at District's direct costs to the vendor. b. For digital copies, the direct cost of duplication shall be the costs directly incurred by the District in copying and producing the documents in electronic format. c. The District shall have the right to request payment of the estimated charges in advance of producing any copies. d. The requestor may have an outside copying /scanning service licensed to provide this service and the District will cooperate in providing a reasonable place and time to accomplish the copying. e. The District may request a full and complete copy of all documents copied or scanned by the outside copying /scanning service and will be responsible for the costs of the additional copy. 10. All inspections of public records which take place in accordance with the Act and the provisions of this Resolution shall take place within the District's normal business hours. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Vallecitos Water District held on the 1gth day of June, 2013, by the following roll call vote: AYES: EVANS, FERGUSON, MARTIN, POLTL, HERNANDEZ NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: James ernan ez, President Board o 1rectors Vallecitos Water District ATTEST T omas S- caglio Treasurer Board of Directors Vallecitos Water District