As stated by the Georgia Opens Records Act, citizens of Georgia have the right to certain public records, a process referred to as an Open Records Request or ORR. BGJWSC is a public service which complies with these laws in order to be as transparent as possible. Our public records are available for inspection and copying upon request. The BGJWSC upholds and supports your rights as a citizen of this great community.

Georgia Open Records Act (“GORA”)

“The General Assembly finds and declares that the strong public policy of this state is in favor of open government; that open government is essential to a free, open, and democratic society; and that public access to public records should be encouraged to foster confidence in government and so that the public can evaluate the expenditure of public funds and the efficient and proper functioning of its institutions.”

(a) of § 50-18-70 of the Georgia Open Records Act

What is a Record?

• Documents
• Letters
• Papers
• Maps
• Books
• Tapes
• Photographs
• Data
• Data fields
• Emails
• Computer generated information

Process

1. Fill out GORA request form below.

2. GORA allows the BGJWSC three working days from the date of receipt of the records request to respond. This includes:

• Providing the records
• Informing of additional time needed
• Informing of why records are exempted or excluded from GORA

3. GORA allows the BGJWSC to withhold certain records that are exempt or excluded from public information. Such as:

• Personal information
• Pending contracts
• Pending investigations
• Property acquisition

4. BGJWSC may make reasonable charges that do not exceed its actual cost, in accessing, duplicating, supplying or searching for the requested records.

United States Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)

The Freedom of Information Act is a United Stated federal law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Though the BGJWSC, a locally-governed utility created by state mandate, does not respond to FOIA requests, we will take every means available to us to make information available to you unless federal or state law otherwise prohibits the release of the information, such as in reporting vulnerabilities that may compromise the safety, security or integrity of the utility systems or providing details that may compromise the safety, privacy or security of specific customers of the utility. If that is a concern, we will indicate the details of the conflict in our reply.

Contacting Us with Open Records Requests

The primary Open Records Request Administrator is Janice Meridith, Executive Commission Administrator (jmeridith@bgjwsc.org – 912.261.7136). Requests for information can be delivered to us in writing using the following request form, BGJWSC_OD-0002_Open_Records_Request_Form_1.1, which can be completed, scanned and sent as an email attachment to Janice. The form can also be faxed to 912.261.7178. For mailing, use the following address:

Brunswick-Glynn Joint Water & Sewer Commission
Attn: Open Records Request Administrator
1703 Gloucester St
Brunswick, GA 31520