Right-To-Know Law
"Ensuring open and honest government is a bedrock principle of democracy. It can only be attained through the unfettered exchange of information between citizens and their government. A citizen’s right-to-know, sometimes known as freedom of information, fosters accountability, prevents abuses of power and promotes trust in government. Pennsylvania has codified this important right to access government records in Act 3 of 2008, called the Right-to-Know law." ~ Pennsylvania Office of Open Records
The Pennsylvania Right to Know Law was established to provide citizens of the Commonwealth the right to request, inspect and obtain copies of public records. Township Secretary, Willetta D. Huth, is the Open Records Officer for the Township and Chief Christopher Raubenstine is the Open Records Officer for the Police Department, as appointed by the Silver Spring Township Board of Supervisors.
January 1, 2009 Act 3 of 2008, the Right to Know Law, became effective. This Act provided for access to public information, for a designated opens-record officer for each local agency, for procedure, and appeal of agency determination, for judicial review and for the Office of Open Records. This general order is implemented for the purpose of this department complying with the procedures set forth in the Opens Records Law.
Click Here for General Order #4.11
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The Township is committed to fulfilling Right to Know Requests in a timely basis. While most requests can be completed relatively quickly, there are occasions when the complexity of a request requires days or even weeks of research, especially when electronic records are not available, and staff must manually search paper archives. Often, a request will span different departments, requiring the attention of several staff. A response is due within 5-business days unless additional time is required. In that case, the requestor will be contacted advising of up to a 30-day extension.
Below is an indication of the request volume that Silver Spring Township has received and processed for this program over the past several years.
2023 - 36 (to date)
2022 - 248
2021 - 182
2020 - 136
2019 - 135
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For an official Right to Know request form, we ask that you provide as much specific detail as possible. Note that administrative copying fees apply for any printed materials obtained through your request. For Right to Know issues pertaining to an administrative matter, please email SST Info; for police matters, contact the Police Administrator.
EMAIL RIGHT TO KNOW REQUESTS TO: sstinfo@sstwp.org
For More Information:
Office of Open Records
Commonwealth Keystone Building
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-2234
Phone: (717) 346-9903
Email: openrecords@pa.gov
Website: Office of Open Records
Email Office of Open Records
Cumberland County District Attorney:
Sean M. McCormack
1 Courthouse Square, Suite 202
Carlisle, PA 17013
Phone: (717) 240-6210, ext 6211
Toll Free: (800) 697-0371, ext 6210
Fax: (717) 240-6164
Email the District Attorney
Transparency in Coverage Rule
To view readable files click (here).
NOTE: These files will be available after July 1, 2022. This link leads to the machine readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data.