Right-to-Know & Open Records

The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records provides detailed directions and specific examples of making a Right-to-Know request. Lancaster Township strives to assure compliance with the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. § 66.1 et seq., as amended, by Act 3 of 2008, to provide access to all public records of Lancaster Township except for those records enumerated as exceptions to the law, to preserve the integrity of Township records, and to minimize the financial impact to the residents of the Township regarding the resources utilized in the receipt and processing of public record requests and the retrieval and copying of public records. Documents, or records to be included are those identified as being in the possession, custody or control of Lancaster Township, including within the possession of an entity contracted to perform a government function. Annually, Lancaster Township appoints its Township Manager, Secretary-Treasurer, and Sergeant of the Lancaster Township Police Department as Open Records Officers. Their contact information is below.

SUBMITTING A RIGHT-TO-KNOW (RTK) REQUEST

All requests for public documents must be made on the approved form, sample of which is attached, identified as Standard Right-To-know request form. This form is availablehere:  Right-to-Know Request Form (PDF)

IN PERSON: (Hand Delivered) to OPEN RECORDS OFFICER, Lancaster Township Municipal Building, 113 Kings Alley, Harmony PA 16037
BY MAIL: To OPEN RECORDS OFFICER, Lancaster Township Municipal Building, 113 Kings Alley, Harmony PA 16037
BY E-MAIL (PREFERRED): Manager@lancaster-township.com
BY FAX: (724) 453-0129

Valuable additional information is also available from the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.

PROCEDURES FOR APPEALS

The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records The simplest and best way to prepare an appeal is to utilize their online tool to file an appeal. To do so, please click here. Alternatively, if that’s not possible, the OOR also accepts appeals via email, fax, postal mail, and in-person submission.

Appeals submitted via email should be attached as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF file.
Email Attachment Formats: Appeals filed via email may include PDF, Microsoft Word (doc, docx, or rtf), Microsoft Excel (xls or xlsx), and image file (jpg, png, gif, or tiff) attachments. If an appeal to be filed via email includes an attachment of any other format, call the Office of Open Records (717-346-9903) before sending it. Any other formats may be rejected by Commonwealth servers.
Email Attachment Filesize: If an appeal to be filed via e-mail includes an attachment exceeding 4MB, call the Office of Open Records (717-346-9903) before sending it. Attachments exceeding 4MB may be rejected by Commonwealth servers.

Appeals may also be submitted via fax (717-425-5343) or postal mail:
Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-2234

In-person submissions are accepted at the Office of Open Records, 333 Market Street, 16th Floor, Harrisburg, PA, during normal business hours. The deadline for an appeal submitted electronically (email or fax) is 11:59:59 p.m. on the 15th business day from the mailing date of the Agency’s response or the date that the request was deemed denied. For in-person submissions and submissions via postal mail, the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the 15th business day.