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1-003 Freedom of Information Request Policy1-003 Page 1 of 2 ADMINISTRATIVE Policy 1 -003: Freedom of Information Request Policy Approval Date: October 11, 2011 Approval Authority: Council, By-Law 3544 Effective Date: October 11, 2011 Next Scheduled Review Year: 2025 Department: Office of the Clerk Last reviewed: 2021 Revision Date/s: Schedules: POLICY STATEMENT Some of the Town of Tillsonburg's records might be available without having to make a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Some records - such as Council Minutes and Reports are available on the Town's Website. Other records are available by contacting the Clerk, clerks@tillsonburg.ca or (519) 688-3009, ext. 4040 or the Director of Development & Communication Services. Before making a formal FOI request, you may wish to search our website or contact the appropriate department to find out if the record can be provided to you without a formal request. If a FOI request is required, please contact the Clerk. To make a formal FOI request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) for records in the care and custody of the Town, follow these steps: • Fill out a request form provided by the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC - attached); or by visiting our website at www.tillsonburg.ca of www.ipc.on.ca; • Send a letter to the Town Clerk, 200 Broadway, Tillsonburg, ON N4G 5A7; • All applications must be accompanied by a $5 application fee. Please Note: A $5 application fee stipulated by the Act must accompany the form/request letter in order to initiate the FOI request. The application fee may be paid 1-003 Page 2 of 2 either by cash, cheque, money order or by Interac, if you are making your request in person. Cheques and money orders should be payable to the Town of Tillsonburg. PURPOSE SCOPE IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE 1. MFIPPA Fees: In addition to the $5 application fee, we are permitted under MFIPPA legislation to charge the following fees which are typical for most requests: • $7.50 per 15 minutes of time spent searching for, retrieving and preparing a record for disclosure including the time to sever any part of the record in accordance with the exemptions under the Act. • $0.20 per page for photocopying and computer printouts. Other fees may be charged depending on the nature of the request. The FOI coordinator will apprise you in advance of what these fees are in accordance with the Act. If Town staff believes the request will cost more than $25, we will contact you for approval to proceed with the request or to give you the opportunity to revise your request in order to reduce the costs. If Town staff believes the request will cost more than $100, we will contact you to request a 50 per cent deposit of the estimated cost before proceeding with the request. No records will be released until all outstanding fees are paid. The Town reserves the right to request the fee to be paid prior to access to the records being given. 2. Response Time The Town has 30 calendar days (including weekends and statutory holidays) from the date we receive your $5 application fee to respond to your FOI request. There are circumstances where we may require an extension; if such an extension is required, we will notify you in writing. In the case where a 50 per cent deposit is required, our work on your request will cease once we notify you of the need for the deposit, and resume once we receive your deposit.