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Page 1 of 3 Administrative Policy # 2017-002 Routine Access Policy
Town of Digby
Administrative Policy # 2017-002
Routine Access Policy
Purpose:
The purpose of this policy is to clarify which records of the Municipality are available routinely
upon request and which request for records require review by the Responsible Officer under part
XX, Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, of the Municipal Government Act.
Objectives:
This Routine Access Policy will improve public access to the records of the municipality
which are not released through active publication, without the requirements to submit a
request under part XX of the Municipal Government Act.
This policy will provide greater certainty to staff and the public as to which records can be
routinely accessed by the public, and which records can be assessed only by application
to the Responsible Officer.
References:
Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act
Definitions:
Council - means to the Town Council of the Town of Digby;
Town - means the corporation of the Town of Digby.
Routine access - means the routine or automatic release, in full or in part, of certain type
of administrative or operational records as a matter of course in response to a request
without the need for an application to make a request for records under part XX of
Municipal Government Act;
Page 2 of 3 Administrative Policy # 2017-002 Routine Access Policy
Responsible Officer - is an employee of the Town appointed by the CAO to administer
part XX Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy, of the Municipal Government
Act;
Application:
Applications for routine release of information may be made in writing to the staff person
having custody of the record.
Any applications for records exceeding one copy of a single record must be made in
writing to the CAO and such applicants will be expected to pay for the staff time and costs
required to access the application.
A charge may also apply for the reproduction of any map.
Staff having custody of the requested record which is not clearly listed in Appendix A shall
not release the requested record except as directed by the Responsible Officer.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Management will ensure that staff is aware of their responsibilities under this Policy and
any relevant legislation. All requests for information other than that described in
Appendix A will be referred to the Responsible Officer.
Clerk's Annotation for Official Policy Book
Date of Notice: December 19, 2016
Date of adoption: January 2, 2017
Policy effective date: January 2, 2017
I certify that this Routine Access Policy was adopted by Council as indicated above.
January 3, 2017
Clerk
Date
Page 3 of 3 Administrative Policy # 2017-002 Routine Access Policy
Routine Access Policy Appendix A:
1. All Policies and By-laws approved by Council
2. Any document received by council or any committee of council at a meeting which
is not a "closed session" under section 22 or 203 of the Municipal Government Act.
For greater certainty, this includes all financial statements and reports, as well as
all council approved and/or received studies and reports.
3. All approved minutes of any minutes of Council or any Committee of Council which
as not associated with a "closed session" under section 22 or 203 of the Municipal
Government Act. For greater clarity, draft minutes that have not yet been approved
by council or any Committee of Council are not considered to be routine access.
4. All agendas of any meeting of Council or any Committee of Council which is not a
"closed session" under Sections 22 or 203 of the Municipal Government Act.
5. Any permit or approval issued by an employee of the Town except that the mailing
address of the permit holder shall be excised. This specifically does not include
the application for such permit or approval, nor any document which is not directly
referenced by the permit or approval. Copies of any document directly references
by the permit or approval will not be routinely copied, however can be reviewed at
the Town upon request.
6. Any finished map created and published by the town. This specifically does not
include i) raw data such as shape files or data tables required to produce the map;
and ii) printed copies of map images or other information pages produced by
Property Online. Raw data may be shared upon approval through the execution of
a data sharing agreement. There may be a charge incurred by the applicant
associated with the reproduction of any maps.
7. Any newsletter, advertisement or other document publicly distributed by the Town.
8. Any document published by the Town on its website.
9. Civic address, Property Identification Number, Assessment Account Number, and
assessed value (market and capped) of any property within the Town. This
specifically does not include the owner's mailing address.
10. The amount of taxes or other debts owed to the Town.
11. The job description and salary band of any employee or Council member of the
Town.