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Routine Disclosure and Active Dissemination Guideline

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Guideline Number: CLK-000-001

Approval Date: December 3, 2021

Last Revised:

Policy Area: Corporate Services, Clerks

Policy Administrator: Clerk

Key Words(s): Information request, MFIPPA, dissemination, records, routine, disclosure, privacy

1. PURPOSE

1.1 The purpose of this policy is to:

           a) Ensure a culture of open and transparent government;  

           b) Ensure that information is available to residents in a timely and efficient manner;

           c) Meet the Town’s legal obligations and requirements of the Municipal Freedom of Information and
           Protection of Privacy Act
(MFIPPA) in order to protect confidentiality and personal information and other
           legislation.

 

      The main objective is to enable open access to public records while protecting the privacy of personal
      information, which are those records in the custody or under the control of the municipality. Routine access
      and active dissemination of information should satisfy most requests from the public and third parties and
      should be a standard practice.  Formal Freedom of Information (FOI) requests are the final step to seek
      access to records. This would be the case where third party notice is required, personal privacy may need
      to be protected or an individual department requires the records requested to be vetted  through the
      MFIPPA legislation and Clerk prior to release.  

 

      Under this guidance, many Town records are available directly from division staff without the need for a
      formal FOI request.  The Town will continue to make efforts to identify information that to be routinely 
      disclosed through the Town’s website, at Town offices and various other mediums on a regular basis.  This
      policy provides a summary  of the types of records that may be routinely disclosed and those that require
      a formal information request.

2. SCOPE

2.1 This policy applies to all records under the Town’s custody or control.  This may include records created
      and/or held by Town employees, officers, contractors, agents, as well as members of Council if the records
      relate to business of the Town.   

3. REQUEST PROCESS

3.1 Requests may be verbal or in writing. The Town reserves the right to require that a request be submitted
      in writing where the request is unclear or where the information being requested is of a personal, detailed       or sizeable nature. 

 

3.2 Requests for records made under this guideline should be directed to the responsible division.
      Notwithstanding, the Town reserves the right to require at any time that requestors make their request
      through a single point of contact to facilitate a coordinated response. 

 

3.3 Repetitive requests by an individual or organization for significant volumes of records, the separation of a
      request into several small requests totalling a large volume, requests made to more than one department
      related to a specific subject or issue will be centrally coordinated and referred to the Clerk.

 

3.4 Requests determined to be frivolous or vexatious according to the Town policy and procedures may be
      refused by the department head.

 

3.5 Records and information identified in Appendix “A” will be provided or made available to any requester
      according to the noted conditions for releasing records. 

 

3.6 Records and information that are to be published will be made available in the appropriate formats and
      determined by the Department Head.

 

3.7 No records containing personal information will be disclosed to anyone other than the individual to whom
      the information pertains unless first severed; unless authorized by policy, bylaw or legislation.  

 

3.8 The Town will strive to routinely disclose documents at the time of the request.  Documents that can be
      obtained directly from departments, as outlined in this policy, will be made available to the requestor
      within 10 to 15 business days of the request.  An extension may be required if retrieval of the documents
      necessitates a search through a large number of records and meeting the time limit would unreasonably
      interfere with the operations of the department.   

 

Viewing Records

 

3.9 Copies of records may be prepared by staff for routine disclosure with redaction to protect personal
      information prior to viewing.

 

3.10 Staff must be present at all times when a requester is viewing an original record. 

 

3.11 The public may visit the Financial Services in person to view the assessment rolls. The public may
        transcribe information, but may not photocopy or take pictures of pages within the assessment roll, or
        use scanning technology.   

 

Creation of Records

 

3.12 The Town is not required to create records in response to a request, except where the record exists in a
        format that requires conversion before disclosure.  Example: The Town is not required to create a report
        outlining and analysing the use of cell phones by council. The Town would be responsible for creating a
        transcription of a voicemail message.  

 

Fees and Charges

 

3.13 Fees will be charged for the reproduction of records in accordance with the Town’s current Fees and
        Charges By-law. 

4. DEFINITIONS

4.1    Terms not defined in this document may be in the Town Glossary.

 

      Terms and definitions:

 

      Active Dissemination: means the periodic release or publication of government records and information. 

5. RELATED DOCUMENTS AND LEGISLATION
  • Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.56
  • Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Request Form
  • Records Management Policy
  • Records Retention Schedule 
  • Owner Authorization Form – Records Request 
6. FEEDBACK

6.1    Feedback may be provided about this document by emailing clerk@townofbwg.com

7. APPROVAL AND REVIEW DETAILS

Approval and Review

Details

 

Approval Authority

Department Head

 

Administrator

Clerk, Records and Information Management Coordinator

 

Next Review Date

2026/12/03

 

Approval and Amendment

History

Details

 

Original Approval Authority and Date

Clerk, December 3, 2021

 

Amendment Authority and Date

 

 

Notes

 

 
8. APPENDIX A - Schedule of Records and Information for Routine Disclosure and/or Active Dissemination 

Type of Record

Responsible Division

Notes/Conditions on Release of

Records

 

Accessory Dwelling Units  

Community

Planning

A list of addresses with registered units is publicly available. Confirmation of registration date is provided verbally. Letters confirming registration dates for specific addresses are provided on request

to the property owner or their representative.    

 

 

Agendas and Minutes of Council,

Committee  of the Whole and

Advisory Committees   

Clerks

Excludes Closed Meeting materials.

 

Assessment Rolls

Financial

Services

Ownership information can be viewed at the Municipal Office but is not provided over the phone to the public. Information is provided to government or law enforcement organizations upon request.   

 

Agreements and Contracts

Subdivision

Legal,

Planning or

Building  

Excludes draft agreements. Signed and approved agreements are provided.

 

Site Plan

 

Encroachment

 

Employment

Human

Resources

Excludes draft agreements and individual contracts. Contracts and Agreements with Unions are provided.

 

Lease

Legal

 

 

Facility Rental

Contracts

Facilities

Copies are provided to the signing parties.

 

Sponsorship/

Advertising

 

Copies are provided to the parties only. A general summary of the terms of the agreement can be provided on request.

 

Services

Legal

 

 

Financial Audit Reports

Finance

 

 

Open

Competitive

Procurement

Results

Procurement

Results are actively disseminated and in public reports to Council as required. 

 

Submissions

Total award value is actively disseminated.

 

Budgets – Operating and Capital

Financial

Services

 

 

By-laws

Clerks

 

 

Corporate Policies, Procedures and

Guidelines

Clerks

 

 

Corporate Structure and

Organizational Charts

Human

Resources

Actively disseminated on website.  

 

Employment Salary, Group Benefits and Statistics

Human

Resources

Not specific to individuals.

 

Employee/Personnel Records

Human Resources

Released only to individual employee.

 

Emergency Plan

Clerks

Personal contact information removed. 

 

Expenses (Councillor and

Department)

Financial

Services

 

 

Freedom of Information Requests

Clerks

Identity of requesters is not provided.

 

Heritage Property Register and List of Designated Properties

Planning

Partially disseminated on website.

 

Legal Proceedings 

Legal

Excludes draft reports, draft decisions and any records subject to solicitor client privilege. 

 

Licenses - Business

Enforcement

Confirmation of permits issued is provided verbally.

 

Licenses – Lottery and Gaming

Applications and Licenses

Enforcement

 

 

Maps

GIS

Excludes any maps subject to external copyright.

 

Order

Building,

Enforcement,

Fire

Orders are released to property owner or their representative.

 

Permits

 

 

Building

Building

Permit application forms are released to property owner or their representative. Permit forms with information of previous owners removed are released upon request.

 

Sign

Building

Copies of applications may be given to applicant, property owner, or their representative. Confirmation of permits issued is provided verbally. A list of addresses issued permits is provided.

 

Pool

Building 

Copies of applications may be given to applicant, property owner or their representative. Confirmation of permits issued is provided verbally.

 

Burn

Fire

Copies of applications may be given to applicant, property owner or their representative. Confirmation of permits issued is provided verbally.

 

Site Alteration

Development Engineering

Copies of applications may be given to applicant, property owner or their representative. Confirmation of permits issued is provided verbally.

 

Road Occupancy

Transportation

Copies of applications may be given to applicant, property owner or their representative. Confirmation of permits issued is provided verbally.

 

Planning Applications

Community Planning

Formal comments from internal departments or external agencies can be provided on request.

 

Planning Policy Documents 

(Official Plan, Secondary Plan, Zoning By-law, Site Plan Approval process manual and more)

Community

Planning

Related background information may be provided on request.

Approved documents actively disseminated on website.  

 

Plans and Drawings 

 

 

 

As constructed and profiles

Capital and

Development

Engineering

Copies are provided on request. Copyright act applies to some drawings and plans.

 

Building Plans

Building

Released to property owner or their representative. Copyright Act applies.

 

Constructed specifications and drawings for Roads, Sewer, Watermain, bridges, etc.

Capital and

Development

Engineering

Copies are provided on request. Copyright Act applies to some drawings and plans.

 

Site Plans and

Related Information

Community

Planning

Site Plans for institutional, commercial, industrial are released on request. Residential site plans are released to property owner or representative only. No correspondence with other members of the public to be released.

 

Site Servicing and

Grading

Development

Engineering

Copies are provided on request. Copyright Act applies to some drawings and plans.

 

Subdivision Plans

Community Planning  

 

 

Report – Information and Director

Clerks

Excludes confidential reports and memorandums. Available as part of agenda online.

 

Report – Building Inspector

Building

Released to property owner or representative only.

 

Report – Property Standards

Inspection

Enforcement or Building

Photos and inspection reports released to property owner or representative only. Verbal confirmation of orders issued and the status of an investigation is provided on request.

 

Report – Sewer or water main lateral condition inspections – residential

Community

Services

Sewer or water main back-up inspection reports released to property owner or their representative.

 

Report - Animal Control Incidents

Enforcement

Witness statement of incident provided to witness.

 

Report - Incident/Accident

Legal

Copies of reports can be provided to individual involved or parent/guardian if identity and relationship verified. Copies will be provided to municipal insurer on request.

 

Survey

Building

Provided to the property owner or their representative with disclosure copyright stamp.

 

Taxes – Property (Statement of

Account, statement of taxes paid)

Financial

Services

Provided to the property owner, or their representative.

 

Taxes – Property (Certificate)

Financial

Services

Separate process to request information.

 

Voters’ List

Clerks

Available for viewing during and immediately prior to the election. Not available at any other time. Copies are provided to candidates during election period for election purposes.

 

Water – Annual Quality Reports

Compliance

Actively disseminated on website.  

 

Stamp Sample Wording:

  • The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury does not warrant the accuracy of these records.  Copyright Act applies to use and reproduction.
  • The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury does not warrant the accuracy or content of the survey.
  • Copyright Act Applies 

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