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Policy 120-010
Routine Access Policy
POLICY
359 Main Street | Wolfville, NS B4P 1A1 | t 902.542.5767 | f 902.542.4789
wolfville.ca
Page 1 of 4
Routine Access Policy
Policy Number:
120-010
Supersedes Policy Number:
Not applicable
Effective Date:
2015-02-17
2024-02-27
2025-12-16
Approval By Council Motion Number:
18-01-15
42-02-24
15-12-25
1.0
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to clarify which records of the Municipality are available routinely upon
request, without having to go through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP)
process under Part XX of the Municipal Government Act.
2.0
Scope
2.1
This Policy will improve public access to records of the Town which are not released through
active publication, without having to submit a request under Part XX of the Municipal
Government Act.
2.2
This Policy will provide greater certainty to staff and the public as to which records can be
routinely accessed by the public, and which records can be accessed only by application to
the Responsible Officer under Part XX of the Municipal Government Act.
3.0
References
3.1
Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act Part XX
4.0
Definitions
4.1
Council means the Town Council of the Town of Wolfville
4.2
Responsible Officer means, in the case of a regional municipality, town or county or district
municipality, the chief administrative officer, if one has been appointed or, if one has not
been appointed, the clerk.
4.3
Town means the Town of Wolfville.
4.4
Town Clerk means the Town Clerk for the Town of Wolfville.
5.0
Policy
5.1
Applications for routine release of information may be made in person, or in writing, to the
staff person having custody of the record.
Policy 120-010
Routine Access Policy
POLICY
359 Main Street | Wolfville, NS B4P 1A1 | t 902.542.5767 | f 902.542.4789
wolfville.ca
Page 2 of 4
5.2
Applicants are required to specify the subject matter of the records requested with
sufficient particulars to enable an individual familiar with the subject matter to identify the
records.
5.3
Any applications for records exceeding one copy of a single record must be made in writing
to the Town Clerk and such applicants may be expected to pay for the staff time and costs
required to process the application.
5.4
A charge may also apply for the reproduction of any map.
5.5
Staff having custody of the requested record will release one copy, at no charge (unless
otherwise noted), of any of the following records within thirty days of a request.
a. All Policies and Bylaws approved by Council.
b. Any document received by Council or any Committee of Council at a meeting which is
not a "closed session" under Sections 22 or 203 of the Municipal Government Act. For
greater certainty, this includes all financial statements and reports, as well as all
Council approved and/or received studies and reports.
c. All approved minutes of any meeting of Council or any Committee of Council which are
not associated with a "closed session" under Sections 22 or 203 of the Municipal
Government Act. For greater clarity, draft minutes that have not yet been approved by
Council or any Committee of Council are not considered to be routine access.
d. All agendas of any meeting of Council or any Committee of Council which is not a
"closed session" under Sections 22 or 203 of the Municipal Government Act.
e. Any permit or approval issued by any employee of the Town except that the mailing
address of the permit holder shall be excised. This specifically does not include the
application for such permit or approval, nor any document which is not directly
referenced by the permit or approval. Copies of any document directly referenced by
the permit or approval will not be routinely copied, however can be reviewed at the
Town upon request.
f. Any finished map created and published by the Town. This specifically does not include
i.
raw data such as shape files or data tables required to produce the map; and
ii.
printed copies of map images or other information pages produced by
Property Online.
Raw data may be shared upon approval through the execution of a data sharing
agreement. There may be a charge incurred by the applicant associated with the
reproduction of any maps.
Policy 120-010
Routine Access Policy
POLICY
359 Main Street | Wolfville, NS B4P 1A1 | t 902.542.5767 | f 902.542.4789
wolfville.ca
Page 3 of 4
g. Any newsletter, advertisement or other document publicly distributed by the Town.
h. Any document published by the Town on its website.
i.
Civic address, Property Identification Number, Assessment Account Number, and
assessed value of any property within the Town. This specifically does not include the
capped assessment figure or the owner mailing address.
j.
The amount of taxes or other debts owed to the Town.
k. The job description and salary band of any employee or Council member of the Town.
l.
The expense claims of any employee or Council member of the Town, including all
associated receipts and documentation, in accordance with Town Policy 120-008.
m. Correspondence addressed to all Town Council whether received via email or mail or
hand delivered to the Town.
n. Organizational charts and contact information for departments.
5.6
Staff having custody of a requested record shall not release the requested record and shall
refer the request to the Responsible Officer under Part XX of the Municipal Government Act
if any of the following apply:
a. The requested record is not clearly listed or defined in Section 5.5 of this policy.
b. The applicant has not provided sufficient detail to be able to identify the record(s).
c. In the opinion of the staff having custody of the record:
i.
the requests are trivial, frivolous or vexatious i.e. made to waste time, harass,
or annoy with no serious purpose.
ii.
The requests are for information already provided to the applicant.
iii.
The requests amount to an abuse of the right to make a request because they
are
A. unduly repetitive or systematic i.e. making the same request repeatedly
or submitting multiple overlapping requests.
B. excessively broad or incomprehensible i.e. vague, confusing or huge in
scope that it can't reasonably be answered, or
C. responding to the requests would unreasonably interfere with the
operations of the public body and the requests are repetitious or
systematic in nature.
5.7
The Responsible Officer may disregard a request for a record that has been referred to the
Responsible Officer under Section 5.6 a, b or c of this Policy.
Policy 120-010
Routine Access Policy
POLICY
359 Main Street | Wolfville, NS B4P 1A1 | t 902.542.5767 | f 902.542.4789
wolfville.ca
Page 4 of 4
5.8
Staff shall protect the privacy of individuals' personal information, as that term is defined
in the MGA, contained in public correspondence before any disclosure to the public if it is
deemed to be an unreasonable invasion of their personal privacy.
5.9
Nothing in this Policy prevents or prohibits any person from applying for any record under
the provisions of Part XX of the Municipal Government Act.
December 16, 2025
CAO /Town Clerk
Date