MEDIA REQUESTS

By standardizing Mauldin’s procedures for processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and establishing reasonable fees for such requests, the City will ensure its compliance with FOIA and its intended goal of transparency of City operations and policies.

All requests for information pursuant to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) must be made in writing and submitted in person or by mail or email to the City of Mauldin. To ensure accuracy in the City’s response, all requests should be as descriptive as possible. In accordance with FOIA and the City’s FOIA policy, please note:

(1)   The City has ten (10) working days (excluding weekends and legal public holidays) from the date of receipt to reply to the requestor in writing informing the requestor of the City’s determination of availability of the requested records; however, if the record is more than twenty-four (24) months old at the date the request is made, the City has twenty (20) days (excluding weekends and legal public holidays) of the receipt to make this notification.

(2)   The City’s correspondence shall also include a request for deposit of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total cost, based on the anticipated cost for the reproduction of the records. The records will not be retrieved until the deposit has been received by the City and the check or transaction has cleared the financial institution. When the deposit has cleared the financial institution, the City Clerk’s Office will notify the requestor of the estimated time of response, unless such time is less than five (5) days, in which case, no follow-up letter is necessary.

The following records of the City will be made available for public inspection and copying during the hours of operation of the public body without the requestor being required to make a written request to inspect or copy the records when the requestor appears in person:

(1)   Minutes of the meetings of the City for the preceding six months;

(2)   All reports identified in section 30-4-50(A)(8) (crime reports) for at least the 14 day period before the current day;

(3)   Documents identifying persons confined in jail, detention center, or prison for the preceding three months; and,

(4)   All documents produced by the public body or its agent that were distributed to be reviewed by a member of the public body during a public meeting for the preceding six-month period.

In order to assist citizens making FOIA requests, requestors may consider using the below FOIA Request Form. This form is only intended to ease the process for citizens when making their written FOIA requests and is not a requirement by the City to process any written requests it receives. Refer to the link below for the Fee Schedule outlining reasonable costs that may be incurred by the requesting party during the FOIA request processing.

Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50, a person or private entity shall not knowingly obtain or use personal information obtained from the City for commercial solicitation directed to any person in this State. All persons making FOIA requests to the City are hereby notified that all persons obtaining or using public records for commercial solicitation directed to any person in this State is prohibited.   A person knowingly violating the provisions of S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars or imprisoned for a term not to exceed one year, or both.

Any questions about Mauldin’s FOIA policy should be directed to Municipal Clerk’s Office at 864-289-8894 or cmiller@mauldincitysc.com.