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Page 1 of 22 <br />C i t y o f L a k e E l m o D a t a P r a c t i c e s P o l i c y 2026 <br />ACCESS TO DATA BY THE PUBLIC <br />Access To Data By The Public <br />While some data maintained by the city is data about individuals, which is presumed to be <br />private, the broader assumption about government data in general is that it is public, and <br />should be readily available to anyone who asks for it. Failure to disclose information that is <br />public is a violation of data practices laws. <br />Any person (individual or non-individual) can have access to public data simply by making <br />a request to the responsible authority that has jurisdiction over the data. The person has the <br />right to inspect and copy the data at reasonable times and places, and, if the person so <br />requests, will be informed of the data’s meaning. <br />Inspection of Data <br />There is no fee for inspecting the data (Minn. Stat. Sec. 13.03, subd. 3.) Inspection includes <br />visual inspection of the information in paper or some other medium, such as on the website. <br />Inspection does not include printing copies, unless printing a copy is the only way to inspect <br />the data. <br />For data stored in electronic form and available to the public through electronic remote <br />access, inspection includes allowing the public to have access to the data so that they can <br />print or download the data from their own computer equipment. The responsible authority <br />may charge a reasonable fee for remote access to data if there is a specific statutory grant of <br />authority. <br />Data with Commercial Value <br />When data requested by the public include data that have commercial value (such as a <br />formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, etc) and a substantial <br />and discrete portion of the data was developed with a significant expenditure of public <br />funds, the responsible authority may charge a reasonable fee for the information in addition <br />to the costs of making, certifying and compiling the copies (Minn. Stat. Sec. 13.03, subd. 3(d)). <br />Any fee charged must be clearly demonstrated by the agency to relate to the actual <br />development costs of the information. <br />Computer Storage Medium