County of Mercer Open Records Office
Mercer County Open Records Office
Roni Shilling, Open Records Officer
rshilling@mercercountypa.gov
125 S. Diamond St
Suite 103
Mercer, PA 16137
(724)-662-3800 x2512
For District Attorney Right To Know Requests, please contact
Peter C. Acker, District Attorney Appeals Officer
dartk@mercercountypa.gov
125 S. Diamond St
Suite 209
Mercer, PA 16137
Main Number: (724) 662-3800 x2287
Fax: (724) 662-0807
Office Hours:
Monday ~ Friday
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Except Holidays
From The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records website:
Mission Statement
"The Mission of the Office of Open Records is to enforce the state's Right-to-Know law and to serve as a resource for citizens, public officials and members of the media in obtaining public records of their government."
A Message from the Executive Director
Ensuring open and honest government is a bedrock principle of democracy. It can only be attained through the unfettered exchange of information between citizens and their government. A citizen's right-to-know, sometimes known as freedom of information, fosters accountability, prevents abuses of power and promotes trust in government. Pennsylvania has codified this important right to access government records in Act 3 of 2008, called the Right-to-Know law.
Governor Edward G. Rendell signed the new Right-To-Know law on February 14, 2008 fundamentally changing the way people access public records of their government. The hallmark of this new law, which fully takes effect January 1, 2009, is its presumption of openness. For the first time in Pennsylvania history, citizens no longer have to prove that a record is public and that it should be released. Now, a government agency must presume that a record is a public record available for inspection or copying. If the government agency chooses to withhold a record, the agency has the burden to prove – with legal citation – why that record should not be available to the public.
The law, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, also established an Office of Open Records. The mission of the Office of Open Records is to enforce the new Right-to-Know law and to serve as a resource to citizens, public officials and members of the media.