City of Tuscola Freedom of Information
Freedom of Information Policy
It is the policy of the City of Tuscola to provide public access to information and records in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., hereinafter the “Act.”)
The City of Tuscola is a home-rule municipality of 4,448 citizens, according to the 2000 census. Located in Douglas County in East Central Illinois, the City of Tuscola provides police and fire protection, street and park maintenance, building and electrical inspection, water and sanitary sewer utilities, a tourism office, a municipal library, and a municipal swimming pool. Please see the attached organizational chart for more detailed information.
The City has 25 full-time employees, 7 part-time employees, approximately 30 paid-on-call firefighters, and approximately 25 summer-seasonal employees each year. The FY2010 total operating budget was $10,186,389.
The location and phone numbers of the City’s offices are listed below. Each address is in Tuscola, Illinois 61953.
City Hall 214 N. Main St. 217-253-2112
Police Station 204 N. Parke St. 217-253-2351
Fire Station 104 E. Pinzon St. 217-253-2341
Library 112 E. Sale St. 217-253-3812
Tourism Office 214 N Main St 217-253-2552
Street Department 1009 E. Wilson St. 217-253-3114
Sanitary Sewer Plant Hillcrest Drive 217-253-3414
Parks Department Ervin Park 217-253-4122
Swimming Pool Ervin Park 217-253-4932
The City of Tuscola maintains public records in accordance with the attached list of records by type and category. The public may inspect public records of the City of Tuscola at City Hall between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The public may also request information and public records by writing to City Hall, attn: Freedom of Information Officer, at the address above. Written requests may also be made by fax to 217-253-5026 or by electronic mail to info@tuscola.org. Verbal requests may be accepted, but the City reserves the right to require any request to be made in writing. The designated Freedom of Information Officers are City Administrator J. Drew Hoel and City Treasurer Alta Long.
The City may charge a
fee of $0.15 per page for copies in excess of 50 black and white, letter
or legal sized pages per day. Additionally, the City may charge a fee
equal to the actual cost of production of copies in a different size or
format or in color, and may also charge a fee equal to the actual cost
of the recording medium (disc, diskette, flash drive, etc.) when records
are requested and provided in an electronic format. The City may
consider requests for waivers or reductions of fees if the request is
made in the
public interest (if the principal
purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information
regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the
general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or
commercial benefit.) 5 ILCS 140/6
The City shall grant or
deny a request for access to information or records within 5 business
days of receipt of the request, unless
the time for response is properly extended under Section 3 (e) of the
Act. As an exception to the foregoing, the City shall
grant or deny a request for access to information or records made for a
commercial purpose within 21 working days.