(1) Definitions.
(a) “Authority” means any of the following village entities having custody of a village record: an office, elected official, agency, board, municipal court, commission, committee, council, department or public body corporate and politic created by constitution, law, ordinance, rule or order; or a formally constituted subunit of the foregoing.
(b) “Custodian” means that officer, department head, division head, or employee of the village designated under sub. (3) or otherwise responsible by law to keep and preserve any village records or file, deposit or keep such records in his or her office, or is lawfully in possession or entitled to possession of such public records and who is required by this section to respond to requests for access to such records.
(c) “Record” means any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is being kept by an authority. “Record” includes, but is not limited, to handwritten, typed or printed pages, maps, charts, photographs, films, recordings, tapes (including computer tapes), and computer printouts. “Record” does not include drafts, notes, preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator’s personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or her office; materials to which access is limited by copyright, patent or bequest; and published materials in the possession of any authority other than a public library which are available for sale, or which are available for inspection at a public library.
(2) Duty to Maintain Records.
(a) Except as provided under sub. (7), each officer and employee of the village shall safely keep and preserve all records received from his or her predecessor or other persons and required by law to be filed, deposited or kept in his or her office or which are in the lawful possession or control of the officer or employee of his or her deputies, or to the possession or control of which he or she or they may be lawfully entitled as such officers or employees.
(b) Upon the expiration of an officer’s term of office or an employee’s term of employment, or whatever the office or position of employment becomes vacant, each such officer or employee shall deliver to his or her successor all records then in his or her custody and the successor shall receipt therefore to the officer or employee, who shall file said receipt with the village clerk. If a vacancy occurs before a successor is selected or qualifies, such records shall be delivered to and receipted for by the clerk, on behalf of the successor, to be delivered to such successor upon the latter’s receipt.
(3) Legal Custodian.
(a) The village clerk, or in his or her absence or disability or in case of vacancy, the deputy clerk, is hereby designated the legal custodian of all village records.
(b) The legal custodian shall have full legal power to render decisions and to carry out the duties of an authority under sub ch. 11 of ch. 19, Stats., and this section. The designation of a legal custodian does not affect the powers and duties of an authority under this section.
(4) Public Access to Records.
(a) Except as provided in sub. (6), any person has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of any record as provided in sec. 19.35(1), Stats.
(b) Records will be available for inspection and copying during all regular office hours.
(c) If regular office hours are not maintained at the location where records are kept, the records will be available for inspection and copying upon at least 48 hours’ advance notice of intent to inspect or copy.
(d) A requester shall be permitted to use facilities comparable to those available to village employees to inspect, copy, or abstract a record.
(e) The legal custodian may require supervision during inspection or may impose other reasonable restrictions on the manner of access to an original record if the record is irreplaceable or easily damaged.
(f) A requester shall be charged a fee to defray the cost of locating and copying records as follows:
1. The cost per page of photocopying shall be as established, from time to time, by the legal custodian. Said cost shall be calculated not to exceed the actual, necessary, and direct cost of reproduction.
2. If the form of a written record does not permit copying, the actual an necessary cost of photographing and photographic processing shall be charged.
3. The actual full cost of providing a copy of other records not in printed form on paper, such as films, computer printouts, and audio- or video-tapes, shall be charged.
4. If mailing or shipping is necessary, the actual cost thereof shall also be charged.
5. There shall be no charge for locating a record unless the actual cost therefore exceeds $50.00, in which case the actual cost shall be determined by the legal custodian and billed to the requester.
6. The legal custodian shall estimate the cost of all applicable fees and may require a cash deposit adequate to assure payment, if such estimate exceeds $5.00.
7. Elected and appointed officials of the village of Deerfield shall not be required to pay for public records they may reasonably require for the proper performance of their official duties.
8. The legal custodian may provide copies of a record without charge or at a reduced charge where he or she determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest.
(g) Pursuant to sec. 19.34, Stats., and the guidelines listed, each authority shall adopt, prominently display and make available for inspection and copying at its offices, for the guidance of the public, a notice containing a description of its organization and the established times and places at which, the legal custodian from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain information and access to records in its custody, make requests for records in its custody, make requests for records, or obtain copies of records, and the costs thereof. This subsection does not apply to members of the village board.
(5) Access Procedures.
(a) A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian. A request shall be deemed sufficient if it reasonably describes the requested record or the information requested. However, a request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A request may be made orally, but a request must be in writing before an action to enforce the request is commenced under sec. 19.37, Stats. Except as provided below, no request may be refused because the person making the request is unwilling to be identified or to state the purpose of the request. No request may be refused because the request is received by mail, unless prepayment of a fee is required under sub. (4) (f) 6. A requester may be required to show acceptable identification whenever the requested record is kept at a private residence or whenever security reasons or federal law or regulations so require.
(c) Village officers may destroy the following records of which they are the legal custodian and which are considered obsolete, but not less than seven years after the record was effective unless another period has been set statute, and then after such a period, or unless a shorter period has been fixed by the state public records board pursuant to sec. 16.61(3)(e), Stats., and then after such a shorter period.
1. Old insurance policies;
2. Election notices;
3. Canceled registrations cards.
(d) Unless notice is waived by the state historical society, at least 60 days’ notice shall be given the state historical society prior to the destruction of any record as provided by sec. 19.21(4)(a), Stats.
(e) Any tape recordings of a governmental meeting of the Village may be destroyed, erased, or reused no sooner than 90 days after the minutes of the meeting have been approved and published, if the purpose of the recording was to make minutes of the meeting.
(8) Preservation Through Microfilm. Any village officer, or the director of any department or division of village government may, subject to the approval of the village president, keep and preserve public records in his or her possession by means of microfilm or other photographic reproduction method. Such records shall meet the standards for photographic reproduction set forth in sec. 16.61(7)(a) and (b), Stats., and shall be considered original records for all purposes. Such records shall be preserved along with other files of the department or division and shall be open to public inspection and copying according to the provisions of state law and of subs. (4) through (6) of this ordinance.
(9) Severability. The provisions of this section 26.01 are severable. If a subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase shall be adjudged by a court or competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the decision shall not affect the validity of this section.