York must search again for property records after producing documents during appeal
York must search again for property records after OOR found the city had not demonstrated that its production during an appeal was complete.
The City of York must conduct another search for rental, permit, zoning and correspondence records after Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records found that the city had not shown its production was complete. The October 20 determination granted Ryan Messner’s appeal in part and dismissed it as moot in part. [S2, pp. 1–3]
Messner submitted his request on September 16 for records concerning a specific property, covering February 1, 2026, through the request date. The request was deemed denied after the city failed to respond within five business days, and Messner appealed. [S2, p. 1]
The city produced records during the appeal. On October 6, it supplied license records and complaints and said more records would follow outside the OOR portal. On October 15, it provided another 160 pages of communications. Messner maintained that the response remained incomplete. [S2, p. 2]
The OOR had asked the city for clarification and evidence about the completeness of its response. York requested more time, but Messner did not agree to extend the final-determination deadline. The appeals officer explained that the requester’s agreement was necessary to extend that deadline. [S2, pp. 2–3]
The ruling turned on the evidence available at that point. The city had not submitted an affidavit or attestation explaining which records were searched, how thorough the search was, or whether all responsive records had been located and supplied. [S2, p. 3]
The OOR ordered an additional search and production of responsive records within 30 days. If there are no additional records, York must provide a detailed affidavit or attestation under penalty of perjury describing its search and affirming that no further responsive records exist. [S2, p. 3]
Records already provided accounted for the portion dismissed as moot. That disposition did not resolve the separate question of whether the city had completed its response. The ruling does not establish the contents or number of any records still to be found. RTK Media has not independently verified later production or a court appeal.
Official sources
- S2: Ryan Messner v. City of York — AP 2026-4112; 2026-10-20. Archived official PDF.
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