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New Hanover County Information Technology Department |
Issued: 11/01/01 |
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Policy Number: 3-00 |
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Subject: Public Access Policy |
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The purpose of this policy is to establish the intent of New Hanover County (the county) to comply with all Public Access statutes and other relevant policies that prescribe the manner in which the public shall have access to the data being held in its systems. These responsibilities will be fully met while at the same time being considerate of the Right to Privacy of all individuals. The county intends to provide the public with the data they request without regard to the purpose for which the data will be used.
The scope of this policy includes all data held in the computer systems of New Hanover County. Each staff member is responsible for adhering to this policy and to all state statutes and published guidelines that affect Public Access to county-held data. Failure to comply with this policy and the associated statutes can be subject to penalties outlined in the statutes.
None. This is the Original Document
The county desires to make all public information it holds available to the public. This information will be provided upon request consistent with all statutes and guidelines applicable to public access and right to privacy issues.
The county wishes to comply with both the letter and the intent of the guidelines on this issue. To that end, the county will make every effort to provide the requester with the data they desire in a timely manner, even if that requires the county to temporarily interrupt their normal work flow.
The county has appointed a Public Access Officer to oversee all aspects of this issue. The Deputy County Manager will fill that role. The first action of the Public Access Officer is to develop a comprehensive countywide policy that covers this issue.
The public access policy will include guidelines for all the records the county holds, regardless of their form. The policy will be in agreement with state statutes and the requirements of the Department of Archives and History. The county has a public access policy for electronic data that has been in place since 1990. This policy has been updated twice to remain in compliance with statutory changes that have occurred. All data that is presented to the requester will contain the disclaimer that is contained in the current policy.
The county feels the most accessible way to make data available to the public is through the Internet. This option represents the least impact to the requester and the county since the Internet is widely available and the county computer systems are generally available 24 hours each day. To the extent possible, that will be the primary method for distributing county-held data.
The county does not view this issue as a revenue source. No attempt will be made to generate significant revenue from this activity. The county may choose to recover its direct cost for requests that require an excessive amount of time and effort to provide.
Change History:
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Date |
Author |
Comments |
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A |
11/1/01 |
BC |
Original Document |