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Excerpt from the City of Philadelphia Open Records Policy & Open Data Policy

Open Data & Government Transparency

WHEREAS, the City of Philadelphia is committed to creating a high level of openness and transparency in government; and

WHEREAS, the three principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration form the cornerstone of an open government; and

WHEREAS, the City's participation as a founding and vital partner in the open data consortium has provided a model for transparency on which the City should continue to build; and

WHEREAS, more City data sets should be published and made available via an Open Data Portal which will provide access to information and a mechanism for public feedback and participation; and

WHEREAS, the demands of an across-the-board open government framework require the dedication of a new position, of Chief Data Officer, to direct these initiatives;

Full text

Open Records Policy – City of Philadelphia

The Law and the City of Philadelphia’s policy contemplates that requesters will receive a 
response within five (5) business days. The Law, however, does provide the City of
Philadelphia with specific reasons that may be invoked to receive a single extension of
time which shall not exceed thirty (30) calendar days. If an extension is invoked and no
response is provided to the requester within the thirty (30) day time period, the Open
Records Request is deemed denied. Additionally, should the City of Philadelphia notify
the requester it needs more than the maximum thirty (30) day extension, the request is
deemed denied unless the requester has agreed in writing to an extension to the date
specified in the notice. If the requester agrees to the extension, the request shall be
deemed denied on the day following the date specified in the notice if the agency has not
provided a response by that date. 

Full text

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mheadd commented May 4, 2015

So, essentially, according to the open records policy any request for which the city has asked for an extension, and for which it does not provide a response, is automatically deemed denied.

No final notice, no explanation as to why it was denied...

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