Kansas Open Records Act

POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR
OBTAINING COPIES OF OR ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS
PURSUANT TO THE KANSAS OPEN RECORDS ACT- KORA
K.S.A. 45-215 ET SEQ.

OFFICE HOURS: 8 A.M. TO 4:30 P.M., Monday - Friday, except official state holidays. Requests received after 4:30 p.m. will not be logged in and processed until the next business day.

FEES

See ELSO Fee Schedule document below

ADVANCE PAYMENT OF FEES REQUIRED

Payment may be made by cash, check or credit card.  Please make checks payable to the “Ellis County Sheriff’s Office”.  Payment of all costs is required prior to receipt of or access to records.  Upon request, or for large document requests, the Sheriff’s Office may provide an estimate of the costs that will be incurred in responding to a request.  The Sheriff’s Office may require advanced payment of the estimated fees prior to gathering the requested records.

Requestors are responsible for payment of any other costs incurred in connection with complying with a request.

WRITTEN REQUEST

To assure that the request is clearly understood, the agency requires requests for access to or copies of records be made in writing. All requests for records must state:

  • The requestor's name,
  • Mailing address,
  • A phone number where the requestor can be contacted, and
  • Detailed information about the records being requested. This will help staff in determining if the requested records exist and are in the agency’s possession. Requests for records not yet in existence or documents to be created prospectively cannot be honored.

For the convenience of requestors, a form that may be used to make the request is attached at the end of this policy. This form is not required to be used.

FAXING AND AIR EXPRESS DELIVERY

Generally, records may be faxed if the request is for fewer than 15 pages and fax time and facilities are readily available.

If air express delivery is requested, the requestor MUST arrange for pick up and packaging of the records; all associated costs for such delivery MUST be paid by the requestor.

The agency records custodian has sole discretion as to whether to honor requests for faxing or express delivery.

REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC FORMAT RECORDS

The records custodian will be the sole judge of the ability of the agency to comply with any request for the records to be provided in electronic format or for records that must be produced in any special computer-generated format.

RESPONSE TIME

The agency will act upon requests as soon as possible, with some response being made to the requestor no later than the third business day following the receipt of the request. If it appears that additional time will be needed, fees will be assessed, or some of the records may be closed by law, a written response will be provided as soon as the records have been located and reviewed.