Town of Greenport, NY Public Records, Access to

The provisions of the Freedom of Information Law (Article 6 of the Public Officers Law), as amended, shall be applicable to the Town of Greenport, as shall also the rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the State Committee on Open Government, subject to the rules and regulations now or hereafter adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenport which are not more restrictive than those adopted by the State Committee.

§ 35-4 Records access officers.

The Town Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk are designated Records Access Officers.

The head of each Town department shall designate one or more persons who shall have the duty of coordinating with the Records Access Officer to respond to public requests for access to records. Upon referral of a request from the Records Access Officer, the designated department head or official shall produce responsive records, in any, and provide them to the Records Access Officer who will, in turn, provide a formal written response to the requester.

The Records Access Officer shall do the following:

(1)

Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list;

(2)

Assign a reference number to each FOIL request, beginning with the year and numbered consecutively from the first request of each year. All responses to requested records shall include the assigned reference number;

(3)

Refer the request to the appropriate Town department;

(4)

Assist the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary;

(5)

Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:

(a)

Make records available for inspection; or

(b)

Deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the reasons therefor.

(6)

Upon request for copies of records:

(a)

Make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any; or

(b)

Permit the requester to copy those records.

(7)

Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy;

(8)

Upon failure to locate records, certify that:

(a)

The Town is not the custodian for such records; or

(b)

The records of which the Town is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.

(9)

Maintain a log of each request and applicable response.

§ 35-5 Freedom of information request procedures.

Freedom of information request form. The form to be used for all requests made to the Town of Greenport or any of its officers or boards under the Freedom of Information Law shall be that set form as Appendix A to this chapter[1] until such time as another form or an amendment to that form shall be approved by the Town Board. All requests made to the Town of Greenport under that law shall be made on the approved form only.

[1]

Editor's Note: Said appendix is on file in the Town offices.

Upon referral of a FOIL request form, the Records Access Officer shall respond to any request reasonably describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt of the request. If the Records Access Officer does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, the Records Access Officer shall furnish a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require the Town to prepare any record it does not already possess or maintain.

After locating the record, the Records Access Officer, before permitting inspection, furnishing copies, or permitting copies to be made, may delete any information which would constitute personal or proprietary information of any individual or business.

Compliance with Article 6 of the Public Officers Law. It shall be the responsibility of the Records Officer to comply with the requirements set forth in Article 6 of the Public Officers Law which are hereby adopted by reference by the Town of Greenport and made part of this chapter.

§ 35-6 Appeals.

Any person denied access to a record may, within 30 days, appeal in writing such denial to the Town Board, or to the person therefor designated by the Town Board, who shall within 10 business days of the receipt of such appeal fully explain in writing to the person requesting the record the reasons for further denial, or provide access to the record sought.

§ 35-7 Fees.

Fees for photocopies of records shall be $0.25 per page.

§ 35-8 Hours for inspection.

Records may be inspected at the office of the Town Clerk on regular business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.