"Right-to-Know" Information Missing from Borough Website

A recent article in the Lehigh Valley Independent blog identified all the municipalities in the Lehigh Valley and how they stack up against Pennsylvania's "Right to Know" laws. 

Since 2009, the "Right to Know" Laws allow any citizen access to all records kept by local and state governments. As blogger Bernie O'Hare points out, part of the law requires that all municipalities with websites post the following information:

• Contact information for the open-records officer.

• Contact information for the Office of Open Records or other applicable appeals officer.

• A form which may be used to file a request.

• Regulations, policies and procedures of the agency relating to this act.

Overall, Southern Lehigh stacks up well against other areas. Both Upper Saucon and Lower Milford have either forms or webpages to access open records officers and make requests for documents.

But O'Hare found one municipality,, did not have the information posted on its website, making the borough in violation of the Right to Know law.

Coopersburg officials claim that web updates may have accidentally removed the information from the site. "With changing [webmasters], the information may have been removed," said township manager Dawn Kresge. "I thought it was on there. I'll have to check it out."