Baltimore County, MD: Detention Center Communications Contract

To Whom It May Concern,

In response to your FOIA request , the Sheriff's Office does not oversee the corrections within Baltimore County.
Any requests of this nature should be sent directly to them at:

The Baltimore County Bureau of Corrections
720 Bosley Avenue
Towson, MD 21204

Lt. Scott Childs
Baltimore County Sheriff's Office
410-887-6107
[http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/n/n/county_seal.jpg]<http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov>

Connect with Baltimore County

[http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/p/i/socialmedia_fb.jpg]<https://www.facebook.com/baltcogov> [http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/r/j/socialmedia_twitter.jpg] <https://twitter.com/BaltCoGov> [http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/b/f/socialmedia_BC_NOW.jpg] <http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/News/BaltimoreCountyNow> [http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/r/z/socialmedia_youtube.jpg] <https://www.youtube.com/user/BaltimoreCounty> [http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/z/z/socialmedia_camera.jpg] <https://www.flickr.com/photos/baltimorecounty> [http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/sebin/d/o/socialmedia_linkedin.jpg] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/baltimore-county-government>

www.baltimorecountymd.gov<http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov>

To Whom It May Concern:

The Baltimore County Department of Corrections (Corrections) is in receipt of your below MPIA request for a "copy of the current contract between the County and the current vendor for inmate communication services at the County Correctional/Detention Facility. This may encompass telecommunication, kiosk, and mobile tablet services. I am requesting that the information provided contain the term and expiration date of the current contract (including any optional contract extensions), as well as the current telecommunications provider and the services currently being provided pursuant to the agreement."

Corrections is not the Custodian of the requested records. Please contact Mr. Keith Dorsey, Director of the Office of Budget and Finance (OBF), for copies of any contracts that the County may have with any vendors. PIA contact information for OBF may be found at: https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/law/piarequests.html

Yours truly;
Randy Mentzell
Management Assistant
Baltimore County Department of Corrections
410-512-3200

Hello Augie Torres:

I am in receipt of your Maryland Public Information Act (PIA) request received on 11/7/2018. You requested a copy of the current contract between the County and the current vendor for inmate communication services at the County Correctional/Detention Facility. In additional, you request including any information about telecommunication, kiosk, and mobile tablet services. In order to fulfill your request, we will need to review the bid responses and extract any confidential/proprietary information as required under GP § 4-335.

The General Provisions (GP) Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland §4-206 provides that "the official custodian may charge an applicant a reasonable fee for the search for, preparation of, and reproduction of a public record." A "reasonable fee" is defined as "a fee bearing a reasonable relationship to the recovery of actual costs incurred by a governmental unit." GP §4-206(a). "The custodian may not charge a fee for the first 2 hours." GP §4-206(c). Baltimore County's Code of Regulations authorizes the Custodian of records to require the prepayment of search, preparation and reproduction fees. (See Regulation 08.01.01.15.E., which can be found at http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/infotech/index.html.) The County is further authorized to require for the reproduction of the records the prepayment of $.50/page for hard copies and $.25/page for PDF emailed copies of standard 8.5x11" pages.

Please let me know if you would like to proceed with your PIA request. If so, the County will contact you when the records are ready and request prepayment of any applicable fees prior to releasing the requested information. No records will be released until the requested fees are received."

In accordance with GP §4-203(c)(1)(i)(4), I must inform you of remedies available for review. If you are alleging that you are being charged an unreasonable fee under GP § 4-206, you may file a complaint with the State Public Information Act Compliance Board, pursuant to GP § 4-1A-05. If you are alleging a complaint set out in GP § 4-1B-04, you may submit your complaint to the Public Access Ombudsman. You may also pursue judicial enforcement remedies as provided in GP §4-362.

If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you,

Rosetta Butler, CPPB
Chief of Purchasing and Disbursements
Baltimore County Government
400 Washington Avenue
Towson, Maryland 21204
Office: 410-887-4637
e-fax: 410-832-4452

"Teamwork: Together We Shine. One Team. One Mission."

Hello Augie Torres

As of today, I have not received a response to my email dated 11/27/2018. Therefore, your PIA request will be closed. If the requested documents are need in the future, please submit another PIA request. Information pertaining to the PIA process can be found at: https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/law/piarequests.html.

Thank you,

Rosetta Butler, CPPB
Chief of Purchasing and Disbursements
Baltimore County Government
400 Washington Avenue
Towson, Maryland 21204
Office: 410-887-4637
e-fax: 410-832-4452

"Teamwork: Together We Shine. One Team. One Mission."