BUTTS COUNTY GEORGIA-ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK JESSICA E. REYNOLDS

Jessica Reynolds has been employed with Butts County since 2006, originally in the Community Development Department and later, the Board of Commissioners Office where she served for the past year as Administrative Clerk in the finance division. In 2009, she was promoted to Deputy County Clerk subsequently, to County Clerk in June of 2009. She is responsible for purchasing, materials management and accounting functions. In this role, she is the County's Chief Records Officer and Chief of Staff to the Board of Commissioners. She also manages and supervises all open records processing and the docket for the Board of Commissioner's Meetings. She and her husband reside in Butts County with their two children.

The Office of the County Clerk is responsibile for managing the official records and documents of the Butts County Government, including all documents of the Board of Commissioners. The Clerk prepares the agendas for Commission meetings, takes the minutes of the Commission meetings and archives them for future reference and record. Additionally, this Office receives requests for group assemblies on County premises. One of the key functions of the Office is to also receive requests for records under the Open Records laws of the State of Georgia. Requestors may make request of such records from the Office of the Clerk during regular business hours of the County. The requests may be made in person, by mail, via e-mail or by telephone. If made by mail, it is recommended that this be sent via certified mail to ensure delivery and proper receipt. Butts County will not be responsible for Open Record Requests that we do not receive. Although it is not required, it is recommended that you fill out a request form and clearly state the materials being sought so as to avoid confusion and delay of processing. Requests which are unclear or illegible may result in error. The request form may be downloaded by clicking the link on the left side of this page. Certain records are exempt from open records request. This includes, but is not limited to the following: any information pertaining to an employee's medical records, including insurance or documents that would be an invasion of personal privacy (OCGA 50-18-72); documents concerning an ongoing criminal investigation (OCGA 50-18-72-A 3); documents pertaining to real estate transactions, until such time as the transaction is completed (OCGA 50-18-72 A 6); documents sealed by court order (OCGA 50-18-70 B) and any documents  that are covered by attorney/client privilege (OCGA 50-18-72 E) Additionally, the Office is not required to produce records which do not exist or are not in the physical possession of the County Office. The only records covered are those not exempt by law and in the actual physical possession of the County. The County has three business days to respond to the request for open records. This response will cover what records are available, an estimated amount of time it will take to process the request  and an estimated cost for processing the request. If all conditions are agreeable to the requestor, the processing of the actual request will begin at this point. Please note that a request for open records is not required to be fulfilled within 3 business days-it is the response to the request that is required within that period of time. COSTS The County is allowed by law to charge the following fees for the processing of open records requests. $0.25 per page $15.28 per hour for each hour of research required to fulfil the request (the first 15 minutes of research time is excluded; any research that is conducted beyond the first 15 minutes will be charged at that rate). In addition, each document will have to be hand inspected to determine whether any of the information contained in the document is excluded or protected from disclosure. If such information is included, this will be redacted. Actual cost of any cassette, diskette, compact disk or other storage medium that is required to fulfil the request. All estimated costs will be included in the initial response to the request for open records.

Jessica E. Reynolds County Clerk Administration Complex 625 Third Street West Suite 4-05 Jackson, Georgia 30233 Phone 770-775-8200 Fax 770-775-8211 jreynolds@buttscounty.org

Open Records Request Form