Data Practices

Data Practices

The Government Data Practices Act presumes that all government data is public unless a state or federal law says the data is not public.

The Government Data Practices Act also provides that the City of Victoria must keep all government data in a way that makes it easy for you, as a member of the public, to access public data. You have the right to look at (inspect), free of charge, all public data that we keep. You also have the right to get copies of public data. The Government Data Practices Act allows us to charge for copies. You have the right to look at data, free of charge, before deciding to request copies.

Application Instructions
To view or access copies of public data, please use the online form (linked below) or download the PDF form (also linked below) and send in by email, U.S. mail, or hand-delivering it to the City.

Data requests should be as clear and detailed as possible. If the City does not understand your request, the City may ask for clarification. The City cannot begin processing your data request if you do not provide the requested clarification. If requests are broad and would yield voluminous data, the City may also ask for your request to be more specified. A deposit for actual costs of providing any copies may be required.

The City cannot require a member of the public, to identify themselves, or explain the reason for their data request. However, depending on how you wish to receive the information (i.e., mailed, emailed, etc.), we may need necessary contact information. If you choose not to provide any identifying information, we will provide you with contact information so you may check on the status of your request.

Application Forms
  • Request data through the online form: 
  • Request data by filling out the PDF form:
  • Once a fee has been estimated, pay the associated fees:
    • Via check (Attn: City of Victoria), money order, or dropping off at Victoria City Hall, 1670 Stieger Lake Lane, PO Box 36, Victoria, MN 55386
    • Via credit card by contacting City Hall at 952-443-4210
  • Some specific mapping and GIS data can be downloaded at no cost at the link below:
Data Request Process
Upon receiving your request, the City will begin processing:
  • If we do not have the data, we will notify you in writing as soon as reasonably possible.
  • If we have the data, but the data are not public, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and state which specific law classifies the data as non-public.
  • If we have the data, and the data is public, we will respond to your request appropriately and promptly, within a reasonable amount of time by doing one of the following:
    • arrange a date, time, and place to inspect data, for free, if your request is to look at the data, or
    • provide you with copies of the data as soon as reasonably possible. You may choose to pick up your copies, or we will mail or email them to you if possible (you will need to provide us with an address or email address). We may provide electronic copies (such as email or CD-ROM) upon request if we keep the data in electronic format.
If you do not understand some of the data (technical terminology, abbreviations, or acronyms), please let us know and we can provide an explanation.

The Government Data Practices Act does not require us to create or collect new data in response to a data request if we do not already have the data, or to provide data in a specific form or arrangement if we do not keep the data in that form or arrangement. For example, if the data you request are on paper only, we are not required to create electronic documents to respond to your request.

Copy Costs and Payment
The City of Victoria charges members of the public for copies of government data. These charges are authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03, subdivision 3(c).

Pre-payment is mandatory for all copy requests for which fees are charged. Additionally, if a data request will result in voluminous numbers of documents, the City may ask for a deposit prior to copying data. If the cost of providing the copies is less than the deposit amount, you will receive a refund of the unused deposit amount. If the cost of providing the copies exceeds the deposit amount, you are responsible for the remaining balance before the copies will be provided to you. You must pay the deposit amount before the City will begin working on your request.

The City will not require payment for copies if the cost of copies is less than $5.00.

For 100 or Fewer Paper Copies – 25 Cents Per Page
100 or fewer pages of black and white, letter or legal size paper copies cost 25¢ for a one-sided copy, or 50¢ for a two-sided copy.

For 100 or More Paper Copies, or Most Other Types of Copies – Actual Cost
The charge for most other types of copies, when a charge is not set by statute or rule, is the actual cost of searching for and retrieving the data, and making the copies, or electronically transmitting the data (e.g. sending the data by email).

In determining the actual cost of making copies, the City considers factors including but not limited to:

  • Staff time to:
    • retrieve documents (except when the subject of the data is making the request);
    • make, certify and compile copies;
    • sort and label documents only if necessary to identify the data to be copied ;
    • remove staples or paper clips;
    • Please note: the cost of employee time to search for data, retrieve data, and make copies should generally not exceed those of the lowest-paid employee who can complete the task performed. However, if, because of the subject matter of your request, we find it necessary for a higher-paid employee to search for and retrieve the data, we will calculate the search and retrieval portion of the copy charge at the higher salary/wage;
  • Materials (paper, copier ink, staples, magnetic tapes, CDs or DVDs, thumb drives, etc.);
  • Special costs associated with making copies from computerized data, such as writing or modifying a computer program to format data;
  • Mailing costs; and/or
  • Costs to pay an outside vendor (including transportation to and from the vendor) if your request is for copies of data that we cannot reproduce ourselves, such as photographs.
Data Practices Resources

Frequently Requested Data 
The City of Victoria has compiled a list of public data that is frequently requested by members of the public. The links provided are not meant to be a comprehensive list of City data nor a complete list of the data listed within each of the topic descriptions.

 To request additional and/or specific data, please submit a Data Practice Request Application with the City Clerk’s Office.

Contact 
Claudia Ettesvold, City Clerk, City of Victoria |  cityclerksoffice@ci.victoria.mn.us  | (952) 443-4216

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