Granted: Township records from tax collector
March 09, 2009 Filed in: Granted
| Denied
| Penn Twp
| Tax liens
| Tax
collectors | Certified
copies | Necessarily
incurred fees | Fees
Granted in part and denied in
part: A request for printouts of current
tax lien information on a single property in Penn
Township.
From
the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information
Coalition
Granted in part and denied in part: A request for printouts of current tax year and lien information on a single property in Penn Township.
The township had provided a tax duplicate and told the requester that tax lien certifications were available from the tax collector for a fee. The requester in his appeal said the tax duplicate is not what he requested, and that the tax collector was unwilling to provide the information at a copy rate because it is not an agency under the Right to Know Law.
The township, in its response to the appeal, contended that the Local Tax Collection Law conflicts with the Right to Know Law, precluding the township from complying with the request to obtain the records from the tax collector.
The Office of Open Records noted that while the LTCL made it clear that tax collectors are not a public agency and not required to respond to direct Right to Know Law requests, it also provides that the tax collector shall have legal custody of the taxing district's records.
"While tax collectors are not considered 'agencies' under the RTKL, the taxing districts on whose behalf they collect are agencies required to produce public records in response to a proper request," the OOR noted. "The LTCL shows that these tax records in the custody of the tax collector are in the control of the taxing district ... As such, they are township records to which it has access at any time."
A letter from the tax collector to the township stated that since he owns the computer equipment and software used to maintain the tax records, "tax information will not be released from my office unless payment is made for a tax certification."
The Office of Open Records concluded that the township has a responsibility to furnish the tax records requested, and that if it must pay a certification fee to obtain them from the tax collector, it may be passed on to the requester as a "necessarily incurred" fee, as provided for in the Right to Know Law.
The rest of the request, for other charges and lienable items, was denied, with the township showing it was not in possession of these records.
Signature Information Solutions vs. Penn Township -- AP 2009-0020
Granted in part and denied in part: A request for printouts of current tax year and lien information on a single property in Penn Township.
The township had provided a tax duplicate and told the requester that tax lien certifications were available from the tax collector for a fee. The requester in his appeal said the tax duplicate is not what he requested, and that the tax collector was unwilling to provide the information at a copy rate because it is not an agency under the Right to Know Law.
The township, in its response to the appeal, contended that the Local Tax Collection Law conflicts with the Right to Know Law, precluding the township from complying with the request to obtain the records from the tax collector.
The Office of Open Records noted that while the LTCL made it clear that tax collectors are not a public agency and not required to respond to direct Right to Know Law requests, it also provides that the tax collector shall have legal custody of the taxing district's records.
"While tax collectors are not considered 'agencies' under the RTKL, the taxing districts on whose behalf they collect are agencies required to produce public records in response to a proper request," the OOR noted. "The LTCL shows that these tax records in the custody of the tax collector are in the control of the taxing district ... As such, they are township records to which it has access at any time."
A letter from the tax collector to the township stated that since he owns the computer equipment and software used to maintain the tax records, "tax information will not be released from my office unless payment is made for a tax certification."
The Office of Open Records concluded that the township has a responsibility to furnish the tax records requested, and that if it must pay a certification fee to obtain them from the tax collector, it may be passed on to the requester as a "necessarily incurred" fee, as provided for in the Right to Know Law.
The rest of the request, for other charges and lienable items, was denied, with the township showing it was not in possession of these records.
Signature Information Solutions vs. Penn Township -- AP 2009-0020