Agency non-compliance
Granted: Delaware River Waterfront Corp. records
December 10, 2009
Granted: A 28-part request to
the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. seeking to
review records related to its relationship and
contracts with another corporation. The requester
received no response to his request, and so it
was deemed denied. Read
More...
Denied: Inspection records not in school district's possession
December 08, 2009
Denied: A request for electrical
inspection reports for the new high school from
the North Pocono School District. The district
denied the request, noting that it was not in
possession of the records. Read
More...
Granted: Financial record request ignored by Willistown Twp.
November 04, 2009
Granted: A request to Willistown
Township for a copy of the township's audited
financial statement for 2008. The requester filed
an appeal to the Office of Open Records when he
received no response from the township, and thus
his request was "deemed denied." Read
More...
Granted: Principal interview ratings from non-compliant school district
October 11, 2009
Granted: A request to the
Uniontown School District for a copying of
principal interview ratings from her interview
for a school principal position. Read
More...
Granted: Johnstown Civil Service Board failed to comply with RTKL
September 14, 2009
Granted: A request by a
Johnstown councilman for minutes and annual
reports from the city’s Civil Service Board,
which failed to respond or supply the records
requested. Read
More...
Granted: Records Rochester promised, but failed to deliver
September 09, 2009
Granted: A request made to the
borough of Rochester for records related to a
construction project. The borough said it would
grant the request, but did not supply the records
within the time frame required by the Right to
Know Law, nor respond to repeated inquiries from
the Office of Open Records. Read
More...
Granted: Records where borough failed to prove they could be withheld
August 24, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for a number of records
related to the requester’s employment with the
borough of Jim Thorpe, including police reports,
records of disciplinary actions and investigation
records. Read
More...
Dismissed: Appeal made before township response due
August 19, 2009
Dismissed as premature: An
appeal filed on a request to Covington Township,
which the Office of Open Records determined as
being filed before the deadline for the
township’s response had passed. Read
More...
Denied: Parole vote sheets, subject to another law
August 18, 2009
Denied: A request to the
Department of Corrections for copies of vote
sheets related to the requester's parole. The DOC
granted access to another part of the request,
but denied the vote sheets, citing a
confidentiality provision in the regulations of
the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole.
Read
More...
Misdirected: Appeal over law enforcement records that should have gone to DA's Office
July 31, 2009
Dismissed as misdirected: An
appeal filed with the Office of Open Records that
should have been filed with the Philadelphia
County District Attorney’s Office, as it involves
a request for law enforcement records.
Read
More...
Granted: Philadelphia police sign-in log from 1988, or statement swearing it no longer exists
July 31, 2009
Granted: A request from the
Philadelphia Police Department for a copy of the
visitor’s sign-in log from 1988. Read
More...
Denied: Additional accident records that fire co. swears do not exist
July 30, 2009
Denied: Records from the
Tunkhannock Township Fire Company relating to a
specific fatal vehicle accident. Read
More...
Granted: Philadelphia inspection records, where agency ignored request and OOR
July 22, 2009
Granted: Records regarding
inspections at a specific address in
Philadelphia, when the city’s Department of
Licenses and Inspections did not respond to the
request or to subsequent inquiry by the Office of
Open Records. Read
More...
Granted: State police policy on motor vehicle stops
July 20, 2009
Granted: A request to the
Pennsylvania State Police for records relating to
procedures to be followed when stopping and
searching a motor vehicle and seizing property.
Read
More...
Granted: Securities Commission settlement agreement
July 15, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to the Pennsylvania
Securities Commission for investigatory and
administrative files regarding a particular case.
Read
More...
Granted: Addresses and email addresses of Cambria Co. employees
July 06, 2009
Granted: A request for the home
address and email address of each fair-share
feepayer employed by Cambria County. Read
More...
Granted: Scranton Parking Authority lease contract with restaurant
June 25, 2009
Granted: A request for a copy of
a lease and subsequent renewal between the
Scranton Parking Authority and Molly Brannigan's
restaurant. The city had denied the request,
claiming the lease contained confidential
information bargained for by the parking
authority and its commercial client. Read
More...
Granted: Address of Harrisburg School District employee's supervisor
June 25, 2009
Granted: A request for the home
address of the requester's supervisor, a
Harrisburg School District employee, unless the
district can assert a substantial and
demonstrable risk of harm to the supervisor or a
judicial order precluding the release of the
address. Read
More...
Denied: State police supervisor notations, certain radar gun memos
June 22, 2009
Denied: A request to the
Pennsylvania State Police for certain memos on
inaccurate radar guns, and supervisor's notations
on a specific officer. The PSP stated that the
radar gun reports requested did not exist, and
that the supervisor's notations amounted to
personnel records, which are exempt from
disclosure under the Right to Know Law.
Read
More...
Granted: Standard copy fee for county as local, not legislative, agency
June 17, 2009
Granted: A request to
Northumberland County for copies of records at
the state maximum fee of 25 cents a page, not 50
cents. Read
More...
Granted: ACLU request that Philadelphia Police Department ignored completely
June 15, 2009
Granted: A 14-part request to
the Philadelphia Police Department for records
relating to pedestrian stops and documents
addressing police officers' interactions with
undocumented immigrants. Other than an initial
response that it required a 30-day extension to
respond, the department was unresponsive, and
ignored three Office of Open Records requests to
respond to the requester's appeal. Read
More...
Granted: Some redacted info on district W-2s
June 12, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request seeking redacted W-2s
for certain employees of the Colonial School
District and Montgomery County Intermediate Unit.
Read
More...
Denied: Tax assessment appeals documents not in district's possession
June 12, 2009
Denied: A request to the
Allentown School District for records relating to
tax assessment appeals, which although the
district did not properly address, it eventually
attested did not exist. Read
More...
Granted: W-2 for Pocono Mountain School District employee
June 11, 2009
Granted: A request for the W-2
form for a Pocono Mountain School District
employee, with exempt information redacted. The
district had denied the request, saying that W-2
forms are exempt from disclosure under a federal
law, and as personal financial information under
the Right to Know Law. Read
More...
Denied: Home addresses of law officers, social services workers
June 08, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for a list of
Susquehanna County employees who pay fair share,
including their county email addresses and home
addresses. Read
More...
Granted: PennDOT vehicle records not covered by other laws
June 08, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation seeking information
about a particular license plate and vehicle
registration. Read
More...
Granted: Request that township ignored for more than 30 days
June 05, 2009
Granted: A request to McNett
Township seeking minutes, budget proposal,
invoices, letters, local laws and bylaws of a
fire company. The Office of Open Records noted in
its response to the appeal that there was no
evidence that the township ever responded to the
request. Read
More...
Granted: County email addresses, not protected by computer security exception
June 05, 2009
Granted: A request for the
county email addresses for all Centre County
employees who pay fair share. The county had
provided requested this of employees who pay fair
share and their home addresses, but had withheld
their county email addresses. Read
More...
Granted: School district W-2 and W-3 forms
June 01, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to the Allegheny Valley
School District for W-2 and W-3 forms for school
employees and all laws that mandate employee
benefits as taxable compensation. Read
More...
Granted: W-2 information with only first-class postage costs allowed
May 28, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for W-2s, mailing
addresses and titles of the officers of the
Interboro Education Association, with only the
cost of first-class postage permitted to be
charged for mailing. Read
More...
Granted: Legal fee records where school ignored request, OOR
May 28, 2009
Granted: Records showing the
amount of money paid by the Pocono Mountain
Charter School to an attorney and his firm, where
the school ignored the request and subsequent
questions by the Office of Open Records.
Read
More...
Granted: Agency required to search and copy requested records
May 27, 2009
Granted: Records relating to a
Shippensburg police officer who was dismissed
from the department in 1949. The borough
initially granted access but required the
requester to search for and copy the records
himself, saying that the staff shortages kept it
from searching and copying the records itself.
Read
More...
Granted: Auditor's letters to Rome Twp
May 27, 2009
Granted: A request for
audit-related communications from an auditor to
Rome Township. The township had denied the
request, saying it had requested an advisory
opinion from the Office of Open Records, and thus
the request was subject to legal review.
Read
More...
Denied: Appeal filed by requester who didn't pick up records mailed
May 26, 2009
Denied: An appeal by a requester
who did not claim the record he requested after
it was sent by certified mail. The request was to
Lehigh Township for a copy of particular letter
concerning the township solicitor. Read
More...
Granted: Employee hometowns, dates of birth, in Coatesville's 2nd warning
May 26, 2009
Granted: A request for
Coatesville's payroll list, including employee
hometowns and dates of birth. Read
More...
Granted: Fire company records, despite FD's decision to wait for another case's court appeal
May 22, 2009
Granted: A request for the
Bonneauville Community Fire Department's meeting
minutes, bylaws, guidelines, building access logs
and responder response statistics. The fire
company had denied the request on the basis that
it would not release any records pending the
outcome of a similar RTKL case appealed to Tioga
County court. Read
More...
Granted: 911 time response logs with addresses included
May 22, 2009
Granted: A request to York
County seeking 911 call time response logs with
addresses included. Read
More...
Granted: Request for teacher grievance information
May 20, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for statistical and
financial information about litigation of
grievances filed by teaching staff in the
Blackhawk School District. Read
More...
Granted: Requester may listen to tapes and make own copies
May 20, 2009
Granted: A request seeking
copies of audio cassette tapes made of Lehigh
Township meetings for the past three years.
The township had initially agreed to allow the requester to copy the tapes himself, but subsequently decided to require him to accept copies made by a duplication company. Read More...
The township had initially agreed to allow the requester to copy the tapes himself, but subsequently decided to require him to accept copies made by a duplication company. Read More...
Granted: Superintendent's W-2 information, withheld as 'personal'
May 20, 2009
Granted: A request for the
"miscellaneous withholdings" information in a W-2
tax form of the Boyertown Area School District
superintendent. Read
More...
Granted: Scranton tax office employee job applications
May 18, 2009
Granted: A request for job
applications of current and former employees of
the Scranton Single Tax Office, after redaction
of personal identification information allowed by
the Right to Know Law to be protected. The agency
had supplied employee lists but not the job
applications. Read
More...
Granted: Tax information from Montgomery Township
May 15, 2009
Granted: A request for printouts
of current tax year information and charges for
liens for a property in Montgomery Township.
Read
More...
Granted: Unredacted W-2 information from Souderton School District
May 14, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for W-2 forms for
certain employees of the Souderton Area School
District, with only required redactions.
Read
More...
Granted: Request ignored by Gaming board as being improperly made
May 11, 2009
Granted: A request for
communications to gambling license applicants and
their responses, including financial information,
to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Read
More...
Granted: Access to Chester charter school financial records
May 08, 2009
Granted: A request for copies of
financial reports involving the Chester Community
Charter School and Charter School Management. The
district had partially granted and partially
denied the request, invoking a number of
exemptions. Read
More...
Granted: Records that township refused to swear do not exist
May 08, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to Newtown Township
seeking copies of sewage enforcement records and
municipal authority payments. The Office of Open
Records directed the township to either provide
the records requested or provide a sworn
statement that they do not exist, which it had
already refused to do. Read
More...
Granted/Reversed: A request for emails discussing school board packets
May 08, 2009
Granted/Reversed: A request
seeking electronic copies of any and all
communications between East Stroudsburg Area
School District officials from Jan. 1, 2009 to
the present that concerned board packets.
Read
More...
Denied: Letter regarding special education student
May 06, 2009
Denied: A request for an
unredacted copy of a letter in the possession of
the Montessori Regional Charter School in Erie.
The school had granted access to other parts of
the request for financial records, but had
provided a redacted copy of the letter, stating
that the information it contained regarding a
special education student is protected under
state and federal laws. Read
More...
Denied: Morrisville school plan that district says doesn't exist
May 04, 2009
Denied: A request to the
Morrisville School District for a "six-point
plan" related to the future of the school
district that the school board president had
alluded to. Read
More...
Denied: Request for fatal accident 911 tapes from Carbon Co.
May 01, 2009
Denied: A request to Carbon
County seeking 911-call audiotapes related to a
fatal accident involving the requester's brother.
Read
More...
Denied: Prison budget from Department of State
April 29, 2009
Denied: A request for a state
prison's inmate general welfare budget, from the
Pennsylvania Department of State. The Department
of State had told the requester that it did not
have the records requested, but did not redirect
his request to the proper agency. Read
More...
Granted: Union dues deduction on Berwick SD employee W-2
April 24, 2009
Granted: A request seeking union
dues information on a W-2 for an employee of the
Berwick Area School District. Read
More...
Granted: Access to voluminous tax sale records not compiled
April 23, 2009
Granted: A request to the
Philadelphia Sheriff's Office seeking records
showing excess proceeds resulting from mortgage
and tax foreclosure sales. The sheriff's office
had denied the request, saying it does not
maintain centralized records containing excess
sale proceeds, and that it was not required to
create or compile a record that didn't exist.
Read
More...
Granted: State Police procedures about use of dash cameras
April 22, 2009
Granted: A request made to the
Pennsylvania State Police seeking procedure
records relating to dash camera usage, retention
and copying. The PSP had denied the request,
saying the requester cited the old Right to Know
Law, and that the request was not specific enough
to determine what records were being sought.
Read
More...
Granted: Request agency said it couldn't respond to
April 20, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to the Philadelphia
Authority for Industrial Development for
planning-related minutes and resolutions. The
agency had denied the request, stating that it
"possesses no public records that fit these
descriptions." Read
More...
Granted: Volunteer fire company meeting minutes
April 20, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for the Frystown (Bethel
Township) volunteer fire company's meeting
minutes from April 1996 through present. The fire
company had denied the request, saying it is not
subject to the Right to Know Law. Read
More...
Denied: Personnel file, although school district failed to comply
April 17, 2009
Denied: A request to the
Wilkes-Barre Area School District for a former
employee's personnel file. The district failed to
respond to the initial request and to subsequent
inquiries from the Office of Open Records.
Read
More...
Granted: Multiple requests denied by township as 'disruptive'
April 17, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: Requests to Newtown Township
seeking various financial records and manuals.
The Office of Open Records found that the
township willfully refused to respond to the
requests without good cause and failed to comply
with the Right to Know Law. Read
More...
Granted: Autopsy reports as made accessible by Coroner's Act
April 17, 2009
Granted: A request for two
autopsy reports from Lancaster County. The Office
of Open Records ruled that once autopsy reports
are filed at the end of each year as required by
the Coroner's Act, they become public record as
outlined in the Coroner's Act, which takes
precedence over the Right to Know Law.
Read
More...
Denied: Minutes reflecting a school board decision not made
April 15, 2009
Denied: Request for minutes
reflecting a Lakeland School District decision to
implement a policy. The district initially
responded with a form letter checked to indicate
that the record did not exist in the format
request, but later attested the school board did
not act upon a policy, as outlined in the
request. Read
More...
Granted: Payroll records with home addresses not redacted
April 14, 2009
Granted: A request to Indiana
University of Pennsylvania for copies of payroll
records of a third-party contractor, including
home addresses. Read
More...
Denied: Water testing reports as investigative records
April 13, 2009
Denied: A request for copies of
water testing for Gilbertsville from Montgomery
County. The county had denied the request citing
the exemption for investigative records.
Read
More...
Granted: Names, addresses on third-party payroll records
April 13, 2009
Granted: A request to Butler
County Community College for payroll records,
including name and home addresses, of a
third-party contractor. Read
More...
Denied: Recording of a meeting that was never made
April 09, 2009
Denied: A request for an audio
or video recording of the Feb. 24, 2009, meeting
of the Housing Authority of Chester County. The
agency meeting was not recorded, so the requested
record does not exist. Read
More...
Granted: Supporting documentation for school enrollment projections
April 08, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for records from the
Methacton School District. The Office of Open
Records granted access to supporting
documentation for school enrollment projections,
saying the district did not prove these documents
were exempt as internal, predecisional
deliberations. Read
More...
Granted: 911 logs, after county's citation of old law
April 02, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request to Susquehanna County
seeking 911 incident time logs relating to
natural gas-related incidents in Dimock. The
county had denied the request, noting the release
of the information was not in the public
interest. Read
More...
Denied: Dam failure reports as part of non-criminal investigation
April 01, 2009
Denied: A request for four
reports about a dam failure at Ryerson Station
State Park. The Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources had denied the request, stating
that the reports were part of an ongoing
non-criminal investigation and also involve
pre-decisional deliberations of the agency.
Read
More...
Denied: Township oaths of office which don't exist
April 01, 2009
Denied: A request to Salem
Township for the oaths of office for the township
secretary and solicitor, a request that the
township failed to respond to properly, and was
therefore deemed denied. Read
More...
Granted: Commissioner's messages on private employer's email
March 27, 2009
Granted: An appeal for email
exchanged between a York Township commissioner
and 18 individuals since 2005, including that on
the commissioner's private work email.
Read
More...
Denied: The times of arson fires under investigation
March 20, 2009
Denied: A request to the city of
Coatesville for a list of times of fires ruled
arsons in 2008. The city had provided the dates
and locations of the fires. Read
More...
Denied: Personnel records of discharged employees
March 19, 2009
Denied: A request for personnel
records reflecting the discharge of six Antrim
Township employees. Read
More...
Granted: Recorded phone call, although it no longer exists
March 11, 2009
Granted: A request for a copy of
a recorded non-emergency phone conversation
between the requester and a state police officer.
The record no longer exists, however, and
therefore could not be provided. Read
More...
Dismissed/Denied: Police record requests must be appealed to D.A.
March 09, 2009
Dismissed in part and denied in
part: A request to the Allegheny County
Police Department seeking a number of records and
documents surrounding various police incidents,
investigations and officers. Read
More...
Granted: Worcester Twp. supervisor emails
March 05, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: Seven requests for emails to or
from the Worcester Township supervisors.
Read
More...
Granted: Unredacted solicitor's invoices
March 03, 2009
Granted: A request made to the
Pottstown School District for all invoices from
the district's solicitor since Dec. 1, 2003.
Read
More...
Granted: Township supervisor payroll summaries
March 03, 2009
Granted: A request for 2008
payroll summaries for three Norwegian Township
supervisors, including payroll taxes and
contributions. Read
More...
Granted: Copies of zoning maps
March 02, 2009
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for documents related to
a Pittsburgh development. Read
More...
Granted: Names of parking authority hearing officers
February 25, 2009
Granted: A request for the names
of two hearing officers in the Philadelphia
Parking Authority's Bureau of Administrative
Adjudication, based on provided hearing dates and
initials. Read
More...
Granted: Elevator maintenance records
February 23, 2009
Granted: A request for five
years of elevator maintenance records from the
Philadelphia Department of Aviation. Read
More...