Open Records Officer

Tobyhanna Township designates Matthew Helbers as the township's Open Records Officer and Betsy Tiene as the Assistant Open Records Officer.

The Open Records Officer may be reached at:

Matthew Helbers
105 Government Center Way
Pocono Pines, PA 18350
mhelbers@tobyhannatownshippa.gov
(570) 355-2231

The Assistant Open Records Officer may be reached at:

Betsy Tiene
105 Government Center Way
Pocono Pines, PA 18350
btiene@tobyhannatownshippa.gov
(570) 355-2221

Requests

Requests shall be made in writing or via email to the township Open Records Officer on a form provided by the township or by the state.

Fees

Paper copies shall be $.25 per page. The certification of a record is $5.00 per record. Specialized documents including, but not limited to blue prints, color copies and non-standard sized documents shall be charged the actual cost of production.

Response

The township shall make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record (s) as promptly as possible. The Open Records Officer shall cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original township documents while taking reasonable measure to protect township documents from the possibility of theft, damage, and/or modification. The Open Records Officer shall review all written requests for access to public records. As soon as possible, but no later than five business days after receiving a written request to access public records, the Open Records Officer shall respond to such requests in writing consistent with Act 3 of 2008, the Right-to-Know Law. If access to a record is denied, the response shall include for denial as stipulated in Act 3 of 2009, the Right-to-Know Law.

Contact Information for Appeals

For more information on submitting an appeal to the Office of Open Records, please CLICK HERE to be directed to the Office of Open Records.

If a written request is denied or deemed denied, the requester may file an appeal:

By fax: (717) 425-5343

By mail:
Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-2234

In person:
333 Market Street
16th Floor Harrisburg, PA, 17101-2234

Appeals Deadline

The deadline for an appeal submitted electronically (e-mail 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.