[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Hamburg
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-17-1989]
The records retention and disposition schedule MU-1, issued pursuant
to Article 57-A of the Arts & Cultural Affairs Law and containing legal
minimum retention periods for municipal government records, is hereby adopted
for use by all municipal officers in disposing of municipal government records
listed therein.
In accordance with Article 57-A, only those records will be disposed
of that:
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
A.Â
The people's right to know the process of government
decision-making and the documents and statistics leading to determinations
is basic to our society. Access to such information should not be thwarted
by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.
B.Â
These regulations provide information concerning the
procedures by which records may be obtained.
C.Â
Personnel shall furnish to the public the information
and records required by the Freedom of Information Law (§ 84 et
seq. of the Public Officers Law), as well as records otherwise available by
law.
D.Â
Any conflict among laws governing public access to records
shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public
records.
A.Â
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Hamburg is responsible
for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates the Village
Clerk and, in his or her absence, the Deputy Village Clerk as records access
officer, who shall be responsible for ensuring appropriate agency response
to public requests for access to records. The designation of a records access
officer shall not be construed to prohibit officials who have in the past
been authorized to make records or information available to the public from
continuing to do so.
A.Â
Active records. The originating department has full custody
(legal and physical) over records still in active use.
B.Â
Inactive records. The originating department is the legal
custodian of its records and shall retain the power to retrieve and use records
deposited in inactive storage in the Records Center. The records access officer
will have physical custody of inactive records and will determine the method
and design of storage.
C.Â
Archival records. Records transferred to or acquired
by the archives shall be under the full custody (legal and physical) of the
archives, as directed by the records access officer, rather than the department
which created or held them immediately prior to being transferred to the archives.
(1)Â
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon the
recommendation of the records access officer, with the approval of the head
of the department which had custody of the records and the approval of the
Records Advisory Board.
(2)Â
Records may be removed (temporarily or permanently) from
the archives at the request of the records access officer or the head of the
department which had custody of the records immediately prior to the transfer
of those records to the archives, subject to the approval of the Records Advisory
Board.
The legal department may take steps to recover local government records
which have been alienated from proper custody and may, when necessary, institute
actions of replevin. For the purposes of this section, "replevin" shall mean
the recovery by a person of goods claimed to be his or hers, on his or her
promise to test the matter in court and give the goods up again if defeated.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
office of the Village Clerk, 100 Main Street, Hamburg, New York.
Requests for public access to record shall be accepted and records produced
from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on days that the Village Clerk's office is regularly
open for business.
A.Â
A written request may be required, but oral requests
may be accepted.
B.Â
A response shall be given regarding any request reasonably
describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt
of the request.
C.Â
A request shall reasonably describe the record or records
sought. Wherever possible, a person requesting records should supply information
regarding dates, file designations or other information that may help to describe
the records sought.
D.Â
If the records access officer does not provide or deny
access to the records sought within five business days of receipt of a request,
he or she shall furnish a written acknowledgment of 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.
A.Â
The records access officer shall maintain a reasonably
detailed current list by subject matter of all records in his or her possession,
whether or not records are available pursuant to Subdivision 2 of § 87
of the Public Officers Law.
B.Â
The subject matter list shall be sufficiently detailed
to permit identification of the category of the record sought.
C.Â
The subject matter list shall be updated not less than
twice per year. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the
subject matter list.
A.Â
Denial of access to records shall be in writing, stating
the reason therefor and advising the requester of the right to appeal to the
individual or body established to hear appeals.
B.Â
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 75-9D of this article, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C.Â
The Village Attorney shall hear appeals for denial of
access to records under the Freedom of Information Law. Such appeals shall
be made within 30 days of a denial.
D.Â
The time for deciding an appeal by the individual or
body designated to hear appeals shall commence upon receipt of a written appeal
identifying:
(1)Â
The date of the appeal.
(2)Â
The date and location of the request for records.
(3)Â
The records to which the requester was denied access.
(4)Â
Whether the denial of access was in writing or due to failure to provide records promptly as required by § 75-9D.
(5)Â
The name and return address of the requester.
E.Â
The individual or body designated to hear appeals shall
transmit to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt
of appeals. Such copies shall be addressed to the Committee on Open Government,
Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231.
F.Â
The Village Attorney shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination, in writing, within 10 business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the Committee on Open Government in the same manner as set forth in Subsection E of this section.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of the records
access officer and appeals body and the location where records can be seen
or copied shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records are kept
and/or published in a local newspaper of general circulation.