§ 2-67. Custodian of records.

(a)

Custodian of records designation and coordination of responses. The city clerk shall be the city's custodian of records and shall generally be responsible for the maintenance and control of the records of the city. Each department head shall function as a deputy custodian of records and shall be responsible for carrying out the public records and meetings obligations of the city consistent with RSMo ch. 610 and this Code.

(b)

How records are requested and fees. The custodian of records may require persons seeking access to public records to submit such requests in writing and/or on a form designated by the custodian for such purpose. No request shall be denied solely on the basis of failure to make it in writing. The records will be available upon payment of the fee requested by the custodian of the records, consistent with the schedule of fees set forth in appendix G of this Code. Any request received by the city clerk or other custodian shall be documented as to the date and time of receipt.

(c)

Response format. If the requesting party so indicates, the custodian shall provide the records in the format requested, provided the records are or may reasonably and inexpensively be made available in that format.

(d)

Response within three business days. The custodian of records shall respond to the requestor within three business days of any request. A "business day" shall be any day upon which city hall is open for the conduct of city business during its normal business hours. While it is desirable that the entire transaction be completed within three business days, there will be circumstances where clarification or explanation of the request is necessary, or where it will be necessary to provide only part of the requested information while searches are made to find copies of other documents requested. In any case where acccss to the public records requested cannot or will not be made available to the requestor within three business days, the custodian of records in receipt of the request shall give the requestor a detailed explanation of the cause of delay and a good faith estimate of the date upon which access to them, or a reason for denial of access, will be provided and in what manner it will be made. Any questions on the release of the requested records shall be referred to the city counselor for a legal opinion, and any denials of access shall be made after conference and in coordination with the city counselor and city administrator.

(e)

Documentation of response. The custodian of records shall document the response provided on behalf of the city by one of the following means:

(1)

Making an extra copy of the response and attaching it to the original request;

(2)

Noting on the request, or in a separate writing if a verbal request was processed, what documents were provided; or

(3)

keeping a copy of any letter or note requesting additional information the custodian deemed necessary in order to process the request.

(f)

Inspection of records. To reduce the cost to both the requesting party and the city, the custodian of records may permit a physical inspection of the records by the requesting party, who may then request any copies he or she desires. No person shall remove original records from city hall or any other city department but may have copies for which appropriate charges and fees (Appendix G) have been paid.

(g)

Waiver of Fees. The custodian of records is empowered to waive the collection of any of the fees totaling less than $1.00 to any citizen of the city requesting documents from the city, or to any representative of news media that routinely sends a reporter to cover meetings of the city council. No person or organization shall receive more than three such waivers in any 12-month period.

(h)

Public notice board. The custodian of records shall establish a fixed place in city hall where all public notices and agendas will be posted.

(i)

Closed records. While it is the policy of the city that meetings, records, votes, actions and deliberations of this governmental body be open to the public, all records of the city, which are permitted to be closed records by reason of RSMo § 610.021, or other applicable law or regulation of the United States shall be maintained as closed records. No such closed record shall be released to any person who is not a part of the city government, except that records that are authorized or required by law to be closed may be shared with a private auditor or attorney retained by the city when the disclosure is privileged and the records are protected by the privilege thereby.

(j)

Subpoenas for closed records. No subpoena for a closed record shall be honored unless from a grand jury. All such subpoenas shall be referred to the city counselor for a response, and the counselor shall thereafter be deemed the custodian of the subject closed records and administer their disclosure or non-disclosure in accordance with the law.

(k)

Penalty for disclosure of closed or otherwise protected records.

(1)

In addition to records which are deemed closed records of the city pursuant to RSMo ch. 610, the following additional classes of information and records collected by the city shall be protected and held in confidence, subject to the following mandatory protections and associated penalties for disclosure by any city officer or employee.

(2)

Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, social security numbers, bank routing and bank account numbers, digital certificates, physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization codes, which are used to facilitate, process and protect the security of electronic transactions between the city and a person or entity doing business with the city shall be protected from disclosure and maintained in strict confidence. However, nothing in this section shall be deemed to close the record of a person or entity using a credit card held or issued in the name of the city or any record of a transaction made by a person using a credit card or other method of payment for which reimbursement is made by the city.

(3)

All information obtained by the city regarding medical examinations, medical or psychiatric conditions, course of current or past medical or psychiatric treatment, substance abuse evaluation and treatment or laboratory testing of any nature whatsoever shall be collected and maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files by the custodian of records and shall be treated as closed and confidential records by any employee having access to them, except that:

a.

Department heads and managers may be informed regarding necessary restrictions on work duties of employees and accommodations necessary;

b.

First aid and safety personnel may be informed, when appropriate, if the disclosed information reasonably pertains to the potential need for emergency treatment of a disease or disability; or

c.

City or other government officials charged with compliance or investigation of compliance with state and federal laws pertaining to the treatment of persons with disabilities, workers' compensation or transportation safety may be allowed access to such records.

(4)

Any person employed or working for the city, or who has been entrusted with a record that is marked or indicates that it is "confidential" or a "closed record," who has been purposefully or inadvertently made aware of the contents of any records confidential and protected under this section, or who has been invited to participate in a closed meeting is prohibited from disclosing the contents of the records, copies of the records, or the content of closed meeting discussions to any third party. Any person engaging in such unauthorized disclosure shall be guilty of an offense under the ordinances of the city, and upon conviction of said offense may be punished as provided by law. Any such person who is employed or working for the city may also be subject to the termination of his/her employment as a result of such disclosure. Any such person who is an elected or appointed official may also be referred to the city council for its consideration of procedures that may result in his or her removal from office as a result of such disclosure.

(Ord. No. 4237, §§ 1—12, 9-20-10; Ord. No. 4448, §§ 8—19, 6-19-17)