The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, also known as the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in Pennsylvania.

SUBMITTAL OF RIGHT-TO-KNOW REQUESTS

If you would like to make a request under the Open Records Act, please complete the Right-to-Know Request Form and submit it to the Open Records Office by email, mail, in person, or fax.

•  Email:

righttoknowrequests@quakertown.org

• Mail: 

Quakertown Borough
Attn: Open Records Office
35 N. Third Street
Quakertown, PA 18951

• In Person

Quakertown Borough Hall
35 N. Third Street
Quakertown, PA 18951

• Fax

215-536-8830 

Quakertown Borough Open Records Officer: Scott McElree, Borough Manager
Phone: 215-536-5001 x119

PA OFFICE OF OPEN RECORDS

If you are looking for other documents not specific to the Borough of Quakertown, the following locations may be able to help you attain the documents.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. How to File a Request?

A requester can file a Right-to-Know request in four ways:

• Email
• U.S. Mail
• In Person
• Fax

When submitting a request to the Agency, always retain a copy for your file. A copy of this RTK request would be necessary if you should need to file an appeal to our Office upon denial. If you do not have a copy of the actual request, your appeal will be dismissed as insufficient.

2. What can I expected after filing a request?

An Agency has five business days to respond in writing to: (1) grant the request; (2) deny the request, citing the legal basis for the denial or partial denial; or (3) invoke a 30-calendar day extension for certain reasons.

The clock starts the day after the RTK request is received during regular business hours. In other words, an agency has five business days to respond to a request, whether you place the request in person or by mail.

3. Can the Borough charge a fee for copying public records?

Yes. However, the law states that the PA Office of Open Records establishes the fees for duplication. Fees for Borough records are set forth in the Open Records Policy.

4. What are some examples of public records?

• Agreements
• Agency decisions
• Contracts
• Grant Applications
• Name, title, salary of public employees and officials
• Records of dealings between the Borough and contractors
• All correspondence and communications not dealing with decisional matters
• Summaries of police activities (police “blotter”)

5. What are some types of information that will NOT be available?

• Social Security numbers
• Driver's license numbers
• Employee numbers
• Home, cellular or personal phone numbers
• Personal financial information
• Personal medical information
• Spouse's name, marital status, beneficiary or dependent information
• Home addresses of law enforcement and judges
• Identity of confidential informants
• Records that identify social service recipients, including welfare recipients
• A minor's name, home address, date of birth.
• Constituent requests to a member of the House or Senate
• Library circulation information
• Internal, predecisional deliberations
• DNA and RNA records

6. Can the Borough limit the number of request that a requester can make?

No. The law states that an agency cannot limit the number of records which may be requested or made available for inspection or duplication.

However, requesters should use good judgment in seeking agency records. The RTKL should not be used to harass or overburden an agency. Also, Section 506 of the RTKL allows an agency to deny repeated requests for the same records by the same requester.