Sunburst Farms Irrigation District
Public Records Request – Guidelines
Sunburst Farms Irrigation District (the “District”) strives to provide transparency in its operations while also balancing the privacy interests of its landowners and the best interests of the District.
These guidelines are based on the Arizona Public Records Law (A.R.S. § 39-101 et seq.) and the Arizona Public Records Law handbook. The following guidelines are to be used by the public in submitting a Public Records Request (“Request”) to the District and by the District in evaluating and responding to such Requests. These guidelines are an attempt to provide citizens an understanding of how the District will apply the law. When there is a discrepancy between these guidelines and the law, the law will prevail.
Public records includes those records defined in A.R.S. § 41-1350.
All Public Records Requests must be submitted in writing to the District via electronic mail, hand delivery during normal working hours, or carrier mail. Requesters may use the form provided in Exhibit A, or other communication providing the same information. The use of the attached form is encouraged to support a consistent process at the District office. Upon receipt of the request by the District, the District’s custodian of record will enter on the request the date and time it was received, and will then review the Request.
The custodian of record will review the Request to ensure that it is clear what document(s) are requested. If it is unclear which document(s) are requested, the custodian of record will check the appropriate line on the Response Letter attached hereto as Exhibit B and return the Request with the letter.
If the Request is clear, the custodian of record will review the Request to determine if portions of document(s) need to be redacted to protect confidential information. In addition, the custodian of record will determine if the document(s) contain information that is not capable of public dissemination because it is confidential by statute, involves the privacy interests of persons or disclosure would be detrimental to the best interests of the District. If, in the judgment of the custodian of record or the Secretary of the Board, the Request seeks a record or records which may not be in the best interests of the District to provide, the Request shall be submitted to the President of the Board for further evaluation by the Board and/or the District’s legal counsel, prior to sending the requestor a Response Letter. If the document(s) must be redacted or the Request denied because of the reasons stated above, the Response Letter so indicating will be mailed to the requester.
If the Request is approved, the Response Letter will state that the copy of the Document(s) will be mailed to the requestor upon receipt of a check for copying and/or postage costs, or can be picked up if requested. The Response Letter shall also specify the amount due and payable by check to the District. The amount due shall be at such rates as are established by the Board from time to time.
The office manager shall present the Response Letter, with the original Request, and a copy of this page to the custodian of record for review and approval. Upon approval, the Response Letter will be mailed to the requestor.