• Please note that all documents, financial statements, reports and declarations filed with the Clerk are public records and may be inspected by any person upon request at the office of the Clerk during normal office hours.

Sections 88 (5), (6), (7) and (8) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, state:

“(88)    (5)       Despite anything in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, documents and materials filed with or prepared by the clerk or any other election official under this Act are public records and, until their destruction, may be inspected by any person at the clerk’s office at a time when the office is open.

(6)       However, a person is not entitled to inspect the contents of a ballot box unless authorized to do so by a court order.

(7)       A person inspecting documents under this section is entitled to make extracts from them and, on payment of the fee established by the clerk, to make copies of them

(8)       The fee established for copies shall not exceed the lowest rate the clerk charges for copies of other documents.”  [$1.00 a page].

           Section 88 (9.1) is New

            “(9.1)               The clerk shall make the documents filed under sections 78 [financial statement] and 79.1 [return of surplus for subsequent expenses] available at no charge for viewing by the public on a website on the Internet or in another electronic format as soon as possible after the documents are filed.”
           
            The Clerk is required to make available all documents pertaining to financial statements or surpluses for public viewing on the internet as soon as possible after the filing of the documents.  This means that the personal information of all donors who make a contribution of more than $100 will be posted on the Town’s website.  This will require the reprinting of receipt books to include a warning clause to potential donors that their personal information will be posted on the internet.