Request sought printed cellphone records for two Township supervisors. Township took a 30 day extension, indicating that the records had to be obtained from a third party. The Township asked for an additional 30 days because it had not received the records yet; however, request had already been deemed denied. On appeal, the Township argued that, in the appeal document, the Requester said he would not pay for records and this violates Sec. 901, and, therefore, the appeal does not comply with the RTKL and should be denied. The extension notice did not comply with the RTKL. The request was deemed denied. The Township did not seek prepayment of fees and did not provide evidence that the Requester owes outstanding fees
The Request was clearly a deemed denial, so the appeal is sufficient under Sec. 1101. We find that the Township must provide the records and may charge a reasonable fee and may ask for prepayment, if appropriate. Once the records are received by the Requester an appeal may be filed challenging the sufficiency of the records or any redactions. Granted.
