Public Records Requests

                                                                                            CITY OF HURON PUBLIC RECORDS POLICY

MISSION STATEMENT
It is the mission and intent of the City of Huron to at all times fully comply with and abide by both the spirit and the letter of Ohio’s Public Records Act. The records maintained by the City of Huron and the ability to access them are a means to provide trust between the public and the City. 

DEFINING PUBLIC RECORDS
All records kept by the City of Huron are public unless they are exempt from disclosure under Ohio law. All public records must be organized and maintained in such a way that they can be made available for inspection and copying. A record is defined to include the following: A document in any format– paper, electronic (including, but not limited to, business e-mail) – that is created, received by, or comes under the jurisdiction of the City of Huron that documents the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.

RESPONSE TIMEFRAME
Public records are to be available for inspection during regular business hours of 8:00a.m. to 4:00p.m.; with the exception of published holidays. Public records must be made available for inspection promptly. Copies of public records must be made available within a reasonable period of time. “Prompt” and “reasonable” take into account the volume of records requested; the proximity of the location where the records are stored; and the necessity for any legal review and redaction of the records requested.

HANDLING REQUESTS
No specific language is required to make a request for public records. However, the requester must at least identify the records requested with sufficient clarity to allow the office to identify, retrieve, and review the records. If it is not clear what records are being sought, the office must contact the requester for clarification, and should assist the requester in revising the request by informing the requester of the manner in which the office keeps its public records.


CITY OF HURON RECORDS RETENTION POLICY

Local governments create records that must be safeguarded and made accessible to the public. Ohio’s Public Records Act (1 Ohio Revised Code § 149) includes specific requirements to make government records more accessible to the people. 

The City of Huron's Records Custodian/Manager is Terri Welkener (Executive Administrative Assistant/Clerk of Council). Ms. Welkener can be contacted as follows:

Email:  terri.welkener@gmail.com
Phone:  (419) 433-5000 ext. 1102
Fax:  (419) 433-5120
Mail:  Huron City Hall, 417 Main Street, Huron, OH 44839
In Person: Come to the Finance window at City Hall

The City of Huron's Records Retention Policy can be found here. 



FORMS AND DOCUMENTS

Public Records Request Form (Fillable and Printable)
City-Wide Form RC-2 (Records Retention Schedule)
Local Government Records Manual (Ohio History Connection)
Acknowledgment of Receipt of Public Records Policy (Records Custodian)

CITY OF HURON

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST FORM (ONLINE)

The CIty of Huron, Ohio government belongs to the citizens of the City of Huron. We conduct our government activities in the open, and we are proud of our strong commitment to this important principle of democracy.

While not mandatory, if you fill out this form it will help us provide the public records you are requesting in a more timely fashion. It is helpful (but not required) to complete either the phone number or email sections below so that we may reach you in the event we need to clarify the scope of your document request.

The City of Huron, Ohio provides photocopies of public records according to the following schedule:$0.10 per page. All requests require advance payment. Mailing charges are assessed at actual cost. There is no charge to inspect records while in CIty of Huron buildings. There is no charge for electronic copies of documents provided via email.