The Board of Trustees of the Village of Hudson Falls hereby promulgates
this chapter in accordance with Chapter 578 of the Laws of 1974.
The Village Clerk, whose office is located in the Village Hall, Hudson
Falls, New York, is hereby designated as the records access officer.
Persons seeking public records shall make application to the records
access officer upon the application form supplied by such officer.
[Amended 3-16-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992]
The records access officer is hereby directed to make available to persons
requesting records, during regular business hours, those public records which,
by law, are required to be made available for public inspection and copying.
In the event that the request for public records interferes with the operation
of the office of the Village Clerk and makes it difficult for members of the
public to receive the regular services of the Village Clerk, the records access
officer is hereby authorized to establish hours during each day when she shall
process requests for records, including the times when such requests shall
be made. The times so established by the records access officer shall be conspicuously
posted in the office of the Village Clerk. The hours of the Village Clerk
are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, from September to June
and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, in July and August.
The records access officer is authorized to copy any records which are
within the purview of the law and to charge therefor the sum of $0.25 per
page.
No records shall be removed from the lawful custody of any public officer
charged with the duty of maintaining such records.
In the event that any requests cannot be met because such records are
being used for current working purposes, the applicant shall be advised of
such fact, and every effort will be made to arrange a specific time when such
records will be available.
In the event that a question arises whether the public reviewing of
any requested record may result in an unwarranted invasion of a citizen's
personal privacy or may result in a disclosure of material that must be kept
confidential to promote the effective law enforcement or for any other reason
which, in the opinion of the records access officer, is valid to promote the
public interest while consistent with the law, the records access officer
shall confer with the Village Attorney before determining if such record shall
be made available for inspection.
In the event that any person is denied access to a record after having
made due application therefor, such party may appeal such denial to the Mayor,
who is hereby designated as the authorized representative of the Board for
such purpose. If the Mayor further denies such access, he must fully explain
his reasons for such denial, in writing, within seven business days of the
time of such appeal.
A subject matter list will be maintained and made available for public
inspection in the office of the records access officer.
The purpose of such regulations shall be to maintain the spirit of the
law and to recognize that the concept of open records is consistent with the
purpose of this Board.