Maryland Public Information Act

Generally

To review or obtain copies of Town of Centreville records, you must make a written request under Maryland’s Public Information Act (“PIA”) and according to the Town of Centreville’s Public Information Act Policy. The Maryland PIA, which gives the public the right to review and obtain copies of disclosable public records, is found in the General Provisions Article, §§4-101 through 4-601, of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

To Submit a Request

For Electronic Requests:

To make your request electronically, you must complete the Request Form and email it to cbrinkley@townofcentreville.org

For U.S. Mail Requests:

You also may make a PIA request by U.S. mail or by other land carriers. To make your request by US mail, you must complete the required Request Form and mail it to:

Town of Centreville
Attn: Town Clerk
101 Lawyers Row
Centreville, MD 21617

Processing Electronic and U.S. Mail Requests will be completed by following the Town of Centreville’s Public Information Act Policy which became effective on March 2, 2017.

1. Requests can be received only when the Town Hall office is open. Upon receipt, the Town will perform a preliminary assessment of your request to determine if the Town is the appropriate custodian of the records. The Town will also review the request for completeness.
2. The MPIA, Chapter 7 – Fees, permits the Town to charge for the search, preparation and reproduction of a public record to be made available for inspection—excluding the first two hours of work. Copies of the records will be provided upon payment of an additional fee of $0.20 per page.
3. There are occasions when fees may be charged to produce documents requested under the Maryland Public Information Act. It is the policy of the Town of Centreville to notify the applicant of the fees that will be incurred, require prepayment of such fees, and that said fees must be paid in full prior to the release of the documents. The fee schedule is as follows:
   • Copies – $0.20 per page (front and back is considered 2 pages)
   • Duplication of electronic file – actual cost of disk or flash drive plus preparation time as below.
   • Staff time – The cost for the search and preparation of documents for inspection and copying are calculated by prorating the salaries of the staff and attorney involved in the response by the actual time spent searching for and preparing the record for disclosure.  The first two (2) hours of search and preparation are at no cost.
   • Fee waiver – an applicant may ask for a total or partial waiver of fees.  Any requests for waivers should be forwarded to the Town Clerk to determine eligibility as defined in the Maryland Public Information Act PIA Manual, Chapter 7 – Fees.
4. Please make your money order or check payable to the “Town of Centreville” and send it to the address above. You may also hand-deliver this payment or call in with a credit card number.
5. If the Town does not receive your payment within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of our reply, it will presume that you are no longer interested in pursuing your request and close the file accordingly. To obtain the documents, you must submit a new request.
6. Persons who disagree with any response to a PIA request, may seek review of the decision in accordance with Section 4-362 of the MPIA.