Philadelphia Office Of The Mayor RTO Return to Office Communications 2023 through May 21st 2024

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Re: Mayor's Office - Return to Office Communications 2023 through May 21st 2024 Your receipt number is: 28050 Dear 164074-30279347@requests. muckrock. com,

Thank you for your correspondence. This is an automatic email confirming that your correspondence has been entered into our case management system for processing and response. If you have an additional request you wish to file, or if you wish to make a change to a pending request, please email it directly to righttoknowlaw@.phila.gov. Did you know that the City already releases a lot of information and open data online? You might be able to find the answer to your inquiry right now!


Here are some common types of requests we receive and where to find this information online right now:  

Search for a property's L&I related permits, licenses, violations, and appeals with the L&I property history tool. 

Search for a property's Real Estate Tax Balance with the Revenue Department's tax real estate lookup tool. 

Find all of the City of Philadelphia's open data sets, including City employee salary data, on Open Data Philly, the Philadelphia region's open data portal. 

Search information about professional service contracts online at eContract Philly. 

Search information about procurement contracts online with PHL Contracts. 

Search City legislation and related hearings online with Legistar. 

Obtain financial disclosure forms from the Department of Records. 


If you seek a police incident report, you can obtain the proper form from the Department of Records. Please note that police incident reports cost $25.  If you seek audio, visual, or bodycam records from the Philadelphia Police Department, you will need to make a request following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. Sec. 67A03 at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=67A. Such requests must be made in-person or via
certified mail following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. §  67A(3) (aka
Act 22). Such requests are not processed under the RTKL. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 67A(2)(a); 65 P.S. §§ 67.305, 67.3101.1. You may use this form to make a request under Act 22. Requests under Act 22  should be addressed to: Lieutenant Barry Jacobs, Philadelphia Police Department, Open Records/Right to Know Section, Philadelphia Public Services Building, 400 N. Broad St., 4W-72, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Such requests are not processed under the Right-to-Know Law.   Use the forms on this page to request copies of various public safety from the Department of Records, such as:
Traffic Accident Reports (aka "crash report" - also available through https://public-safety-reports.phila.gov/) A records check or letter of good conduct from the Philadelphia Police Department Fire Reports Emergency Medical Services Reports The City of Philadelphia does not process Right-to-Know requests for the organizations listed below. If you want to submit a request to one of these entities, please click the links below to be directed to their Open Records Policies: 

Philadelphia Parking Authority 


School District of Philadelphia 


City of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office 


Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority 


First Judicial District (Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas) 


If one of these sources has solved your inquiry, please let us know! Otherwise, thank you for your patience, and we will be in touch soon.  Sincerely, The City of Philadelphia Please Note: To help make sure that future emails from us don't end up in your spam or junk folder, please add this email address to your safe sender list.

VIA EMAIL: requests@muckrock.com Re: Mayor's Office - Return to Office Communications 2023 through May 21st 2024 Request #: 28050 Dear Brandon Galbraith: Thank you for writing to the City of Philadelphia (City) with your inquiry* received on  May 21, 2024. Your request is granted in part and denied in part. A responsive record is attached.   An agency may interpret the meaning of a request for records, but that interpretation must be reasonable.” Barosh v. Phila. Fire Dep’t, O.O.R. Dkt. AP 2015-2148 (Pa. O.O.R. Oct. 27, 2015); Spatz
v. City of Reading, O.O.R. Dkt. AP 2013-0867, 2013 PA O.O.R.D. Lexis 513. The City has interpreted your request as seeking the Citywide email sent to staff on May 20, 2024 announcing a transition to in-person work starting July 15, 2025. To the extent you intended to seek other records, your request is denied as insufficiently specific. 65 P.S. § 67.703.    Your request does not specify a transaction or activity of the City, but rather seeks all email from more than 25,000 City employees for a period of nearly 1.5 years with broad search terms. Among other things, the RTKL requires that a written request “identify or describe the records sought with sufficient
specificity to enable the agency to ascertain which records are being requested
. . . .” 65 P.S. § 67.703.** The requirement of specificity is necessary to (1) ensure that a requestor provides enough information so that “an agency can determine whether to grant or deny the request[;]” Nanayakkara v. Casella,
681 A.2d 857, 859-60 (Pa. Commw. 1996), and (2) “to prevent agencies from suffering undue interference and obstruction of their daily functions; . . . [which] would be unavoidable if agency officials always could be subjected to broad and unlimited requests for documents and records.” Mooney v. Temple Univ. of the Commonwealth Sys. Of Higher Educ. Bd. Of
Trustees, 292 A.2d 395, 397 n.8 (Pa. 1972) (“requests for inspection [must] be specific and particular seeking disclosure of named documents or records rather than broad and unlimited requests for undefined bodies of documents or records”); see also, e.g., Arduino v. Borough of Dunmore, 720 A.2d 827, 831 (Pa. Commw. 1998) (holding that a request for “‘all records’ related to the disbursement of the funds for [certain] public projects” lacked sufficient specificity), appeal denied, 741 A.2d 195 (Pa. 1992); Hunt. v. Pa.
Dep’t of Corr., 698 A.2d 147, 149 (Pa. Commw. 1997) (holding that requests,
including a request for all documents given by Department of Corrections to
inmate and by inmate to Department, lacked sufficient specificity).   Pennsylvania courts have compared such broad, sweeping requests to discovery-type requests which, while potentially proper in the context of civil litigation, are improper under the RTKL. Berman v. Pa. Convention Ctr. Auth., 901 A.2d 1085, 1089 (Pa. Commw. 2006) (holding that request for “‘[t]he most recent plans, construction, and design documents’ relating to” the convention center expansion was “more in the nature of a discovery request than a proper request for public records”); Associated
Builders and Contractors, Inc. v. Pa. Dep’t of Gen Servs., 747 A.2d 962, 965-66 (Pa. Commw. 2000) (holding that requests “akin to document requests under the civil discovery rules, i.e., ‘any and all documents relating to [subject matter]’” lack sufficient specificity); accord PSP v. OOR, 995
A.2d. 515, 517 (Pa. Commw. 2010) (“The portion of the request seeking any and
all records, files or communications [concerning subject matter] is
insufficiently specific for the PSP to respond to the request.”). Such broad
requests have been, and will be, denied.   It would place an unreasonable burden on the City to go through all of its records for an extended period of time without knowing, with sufficient specificity, what type of records are being sought. Cf. Mollick v. Twp. of Worcester, 32
A.3d 859, 871 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2011) (holding that requests seeking emails
between certain agency officials and employees for the past one and five years
without sufficiently identifying the subject matter were insufficiently
specific, and concluding that “it would place an unreasonable burden on an
agency to examine all its emails for an extended time period without knowing,
with sufficient specificity, what Township business or activity the request is
related [to].”) ​ This correspondence will close your request with our office as permitted by law. Respectfully, Feige
M. Grundman Pronouns:
she/her   Chief Deputy City Solicitor Right to Know Unit City
of Philadelphia Law Department One Parkway Building, 17th Floor 1515 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19102   *Written requests for records to state and local agencies in Pennsylvania are generally governed by the Commonwealth’s Right to Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq. In accordance with RTKL, the City has promulgated an Open Records Policy, which requires use of the standard statewide Right to Know Form for the submission of written requests pursuant to RTKL (“RTK Requests”). See 65 P.S. § 67.504(a); Dekok v. Lancaster County, AP 2010-1197, 2011 PA O.O.R.D. LEXIS 25 at *5 and n.1 (Pa. O.O.R. Jan. 17, 2011) (holding that in accordance with RTKL, an agency may adopt a policy requiring the use of the standard statewide form established by the Office of Open Records in order to file an RTK Request); accord Pa. Gaming Control Bd. v. Office of Open Records, 48 A.3d 503 (Pa. Commw. 2012). This policy is available online at https://www.phila.gov/open-records-policy/ To the extent you intended to submit an RTK Request, your request is denied as you have not complied with the City’s Open Records Policy. As your request was not submitted on or with the standard statewide form, the City does not consider your request to be a RTK Request pursuant to RTKL and has processed it as an informal request. The City nonetheless referred to RTKL for guidance in determining whether records should be released in response to your request. ** This language is identical to the sufficient specificity requirement in § 2(c) of the prior Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. 66.1, et seq. Accordingly, the case law interpreting this language in the context of the old Right-to-Know Law remains binding. Dep't of Conservation & Natural Res. v. Office of Open Records, 1 A.3d 929, 940-41 (Pa. Commw. 2010) (interpreting language in the new Act by relying on prior precedent holding that “[t]he language in the two definitions is virtually identical. Faced with a prior judicial interpretation . . . .by . . . the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of the account/voucher/contract language in the RTKL, even though issued in the context of the Old Law, we are not at liberty here to ascribe a different meaning to the same language.”). 

On
Tue, May 21 at 4:08 PM
, City of Philadelphia Right to Know <righttoknow@phila.gov> wrote:
THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Dear 164074-30279347@requests. muckrock. com, Thank you for your correspondence. This is an automatic response to let you know that the City will process your request and respond further within five business days of its receipt by an Open Records Officer. Please note that requests received after 5PM are deemed received the next business day.

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Re: RE: Pennsylvania Right to Know Act Request #28050 Your receipt number is: 28628 Dear Brandon Galbraith,

Thank you for your correspondence. This is an automatic email confirming that your correspondence has been entered into our case management system for processing and response. If you have an additional request you wish to file, or if you wish to make a change to a pending request, please email it directly to righttoknowlaw@.phila.gov. Did you know that the City already releases a lot of information and open data online? You might be able to find the answer to your inquiry right now!


Here are some common types of requests we receive and where to find this information online right now:  

Search for a property's L&I related permits, licenses, violations, and appeals with the L&I property history tool. 

Search for a property's Real Estate Tax Balance with the Revenue Department's tax real estate lookup tool. 

Find all of the City of Philadelphia's open data sets, including City employee salary data, on Open Data Philly, the Philadelphia region's open data portal. 

Search information about professional service contracts online at eContract Philly. 

Search information about procurement contracts online with PHL Contracts. 

Search City legislation and related hearings online with Legistar. 

Obtain financial disclosure forms from the Department of Records. 


If you seek a police incident report, you can obtain the proper form from the Department of Records. Please note that police incident reports cost $25.  If you seek audio, visual, or bodycam records from the Philadelphia Police Department, you will need to make a request following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. Sec. 67A03 at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=67A. Such requests must be made in-person or via
certified mail following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. §  67A(3) (aka
Act 22). Such requests are not processed under the RTKL. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 67A(2)(a); 65 P.S. §§ 67.305, 67.3101.1. You may use this form to make a request under Act 22. Requests under Act 22  should be addressed to: Lieutenant Barry Jacobs, Philadelphia Police Department, Open Records/Right to Know Section, Philadelphia Public Services Building, 400 N. Broad St., 4W-72, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Such requests are not processed under the Right-to-Know Law.   Use the forms on this page to request copies of various public safety from the Department of Records, such as:
Traffic Accident Reports (aka "crash report" - also available through https://public-safety-reports.phila.gov/) A records check or letter of good conduct from the Philadelphia Police Department Fire Reports Emergency Medical Services Reports The City of Philadelphia does not process Right-to-Know requests for the organizations listed below. If you want to submit a request to one of these entities, please click the links below to be directed to their Open Records Policies: 

Philadelphia Parking Authority 


School District of Philadelphia 


City of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office 


Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority 


First Judicial District (Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas) 


If one of these sources has solved your inquiry, please let us know! Otherwise, thank you for your patience, and we will be in touch soon.  Sincerely, The City of Philadelphia Please Note: To help make sure that future emails from us don't end up in your spam or junk folder, please add this email address to your safe sender list.

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA LAW DEPARTMENT One Parkway Building 1515 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 Renee Garcia  City Solicitor  BY EMAIL: requests@muckrock.com Re: Mayor's Office - how long email is retained Request #: 28628 Dear Brandon Galbraith: Thank you for writing to the City of Philadelphia (City) with your request for information. This correspondence serves as an acknowledgement and receipt of your request as well as notice of the City’s Open Records Policy pursuant to the Right-to-Know Law. Written requests for records to state and local agencies in Pennsylvania are generally governed by the Commonwealth’s Right-to-Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104. In accordance with the RTKL, the City has promulgated an Open Records Policy, which requires the standard statewide Right-to-Know Form be used for the submission of written requests pursuant to the RTKL. See 65 P.S. § 67.504(a); Dekok v. Lancaster County, AP 2010-1197, 2011 PA O.O.R.D. LEXIS 25 at *5 and n.1 (Pa. O.O.R. Jan. 17, 2011) (holding that in accordance with the RTKL, an agency may adopt a policy requiring the use of the standard statewide form established by the Office of Open Records in order to file a RTK Request); accord Pa. Gaming Control Bd. v. Office of Open Records, 48 A.3d 503 (Pa. Cmmw. 2012). As your request was not submitted on or with the standard statewide form, the City does not consider your request to be a Right-to-Know Request pursuant to the RTKL and will process it as an informal request. You do not have to resubmit your request for the City to respond unless you are specifically informed otherwise. The City reserves the right to require a formal RTK Request be submitted pursuant to the RTKL before releasing records. The City is continuing to process the request you have submitted as an informal request outside the RTKL and will be in touch with you further to respond to your request. However, if you would like to file a RTK Request, please submit your request on or with the standard statewide Right-to-Know Form and email your request to righttoknowlaw@phila.gov – please do not reply to this email. Please include this notice with your RTK Request. Please note that if you resubmit your request as a written request pursuant to the RTKL, the City will deem your informal request to have been withdrawn.  The City’s Open Records Policy can be found here:  https://www.phila.gov/open-records-policy/ The statewide form appears at the end of the City’s Open Records Policy. If you require a hard copy of the form and/or policy, please let me know and one will be provided. The City reserves the right to assert any and all grounds of denial in its final response to your request. Respectfully, Feige Grundman Chief Deputy City Solicitor Right to Know Unit City of Philadelphia Law Department Tracking #: Galbraith 28628 Request Summary: can you provide how long emails are retained for Mayor's Office email mailboxes? Original Request: Mayor's Office RTK Office #204 1401 John F Kennedy Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19107 July 9, 2024 This is a follow up to request number 28050: Ms Grundman, Thank you for your reply. To narrow my request, can you provide how long emails are retained for Mayor's Office email mailboxes? Best, Brandon View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here: https://www.muckrock.com/ If prompted for a passcode, please enter: •••••••• Filed via MuckRock.com E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS For mailed responses, please address (see note): MuckRock News DEPT MR 164074 263 Huntington Ave Boston, MA 02115 PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable. ---