Overview
The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) gives everyone the right to look at and request copies of public data that the City of Maplewood maintains. Records may be viewed for free or copies may be purchased for $0.25 per page.

Requests for public data can be made to the City Clerk at (651) 249-2002.

The law also controls how we keep government data and what we tell you when you ask to see the data that we have. These rights and controls are:

The law says that all the data we have are public (can be seen by anybody) unless there is a state or federal law that classifies the data as not public.
We have a report that lists the kinds of data we keep about individuals, how each kind is classified, and what law classifies that kind of data. This report is called the Records Retention Schedule and can be seen by clicking the link on the right side of this page.

You have the right to look at all public data that we keep.
You may request and receive public information over the phone, in person, through the mail, or via e-mail. If it is not possible to give you the info in the way you ask, we will contact you to decide on another way to give you the information you asked for.

We don’t have to give you data we don’t keep.
If we don’t have the data you are asking for, we will tell you right away. We do not have to collect or create data for you in order to respond to your request.

We may not have to give you public data in the form you want.
If we have the data you’re asking for, but we don’t keep the data in the form you want, we may not be able to give you the data in that form. If we can’t put the data in the form you want, you may have the data in our format and convert it to the form you want. If we can put you the data in the form you want, we will let you know how long it will take us to provide the data and how much it will cost. Then you can decide if you want the data in that form or not.

We cannot charge you a fee for looking at public data.
You have the right to look at public data at no cost. We will let you look at computerized data on a computer screen, or print a copy, so that you can inspect the data at no charge. You also may inspect public data on your own computer, and you may print or download the data using your own computer, at no cost.

You have the right to have public data explained in a way you understand.
If you have any questions about the meaning of public data that we keep, please contact the Responsible Authority, Karen Guilfoile at (651)249-2002  and ask for an explanation. If you ask, we will provide an interpreter or find another way to explain the data.

You have the right to have copies of the public data that we keep.
You have the right to have a copy of any data that you have a right to see. This includes the right to have copies of all or parts of specific documents, files, records, data bases or types of data that we keep. If you ask for the copies in electronic form, and we keep the data in electronic form, we will give you the data in electronic form.

To ask for a copy of public data that we keep, contact the Responsible Authority or Data Compliance Officer or request a data request form available by calling (651)249-2002.