City of Lockport, NY Chapter 140 Records, Public Access to

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Lockport 3-1-1978 by resolution. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 140-1 Legislative authority.

This Common Council hereby promulgates this set of rules in accordance with Chapter 933 of the Laws of 1977.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See § 84 et seq. of the Public Officers Law.

§ 140-2 Records access officer.

The City Clerk is hereby designated as the records access officer with respect to all agencies of the City of Lockport.

§ 140-3 Hours.

Persons seeking public records shall make applications to the records access officer during any hour the City Clerk is regularly open for business.

§ 140-4 Form of request.

The request may be made in writing or may be an oral request. The request shall reasonably describe the record sought and supply information regarding dates, file designations or other information to describe the record sought.

§ 140-5 Time limitations for City to respond.

A. The City shall respond to any request reasonably describing the record sought within five business days of receipt of the request.

B. If the City does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, the City shall furnish a written acknowledgment or receipt of the request and a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied. If access to records is neither granted nor denied within 10 business days after the date of acknowledgment of receipt of a request, the request may be construed as a denial of access that may be appealed.

§ 140-6 Appeals.

A. The Common Council shall hear appeals or shall designate a person to hear appeals regarding denial of access to records. Any person denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of a denial. The time for deciding an appeal by the individual or body designated to hear appeals shall commence upon receipt of written appeal identifying:

(1) The date and location of a request for records.

(2) The records that were denied.

(3) The name and return address of the appellant.

B. The City shall transmit to the Committee on Public Access to Records copies of all appeals upon receipt of an appeal. Such copies shall be addressed to:

Committee on Public Access to Records Department of State 162 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12231

C. The person or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Public Access to Records of its determination in writing within seven business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the Committee on Public Access to Records in the same manner as set forth above.

D. A final denial of access to a requested record shall be subject to court review as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

§ 140-7 Fees.

Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law:

A. There shall be no fee charged for the following:

(1) Inspection of records.

(2) Search for records.

(3) Any certification.

B. The City may charge a fee for copies of records, provided that:

(1) The fee for copying records shall not exceed $0.25 per page for photocopies not exceeding nine by 14 inches. This section shall not be construed to mandate the raising of fees where the City in the past has charged less than $0.25 for such copies.

(2) In agencies which do not have photocopying equipment, a transcript of the requested records shall be made upon request. Such transcripts may be either typed or handwritten. In such cases, the person requesting records may be charged for the clerical time involved in making the transcript.

(3) The fee for copies of records not covered by Subsection B(1) and (2) above shall not exceed the actual reproduction cost, which is the average unit cost for copying a record, excluding fixed costs of the City such as operator salaries.

§ 140-8 Removal from custody prohibited.

No records shall be removed from the lawful custody of any public office charged with the duty of maintaining such records.