[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Port Jervis
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule No. 11-City-1, containing
records retention periods for City records, established pursuant to Part 185,
Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the
State of New York, is hereby adopted for use by the City Clerk-Treasurer of
this City.
This Council authorizes the disposition of records in accordance with
retention periods set forth in the adopted Records Retention and Disposition
Schedule
[Adopted 2-27-1978 (Ch. 40 of the 1981 Code)]
Pursuant to the requirements set forth in § 87(1)(a) of the
Public Officers Law of the State of New York, the Common Council of the City
of Port Jervis, New York, has promulgated the following regulations governing
public access to records.
The Common Council of the City of Port Jervis, New York, designates
the City Clerk-Treasurer of the City of Port Jervis, New York, as records
access officer for the City. As records access officer, the City Clerk-Treasurer
shall have the duty of coordinating the City's response to public requests
for access to records.
It is required that any request for public access to records be made
to the City Clerk-Treasurer in writing by the requester.
Requests for access to public records shall be received and records
made available at the office of the City Clerk-Treasurer, which is located
in the Municipal Building at the corner of Sussex and Hammond Streets in the
City of Port Jervis, Orange County, New York.
The City Clerk-Treasurer will accept requests for public access to records
and produce records during all hours that said office is regularly open for
business.
All written requests for access to public records shall reasonably describe
the record or records sought. Whenever possible, a person requesting records
should supply information regarding dates, file designations or other information
that may help to describe the records sought.
The City, through its designated agent, shall respond to any request
reasonably describing the record or records sought within five business days
of receipt of the request.
If the City does not provide or deny access to the records sought within
five business days of the receipt of a request, the City 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 the receipt of a request, the request may be construed as a denial of access
that may be appealed.
Except in cases where a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law,
such as a request for a birth certificate or a death certificate, the City
shall charge a fee for copies of records according to the following schedule:
A. The fee for copying records shall be as provided in Chapter
280, Fees.
B. In instances where copies cannot be made by photocopying
equipment, a transcript of the requested records shall be made upon request.
Such transcript may be either typed or handwritten. In such cases, the person
requesting records shall be charged for the clerical time involved in making
the transcript.
C. The fee for copies of records not covered by Subsections
A and
B above shall be equal to the actual reproduction cost, which is the average unit cost for copying a record, excluding fixed costs of the agency such as operators' salaries.
D. The actual fees involved in requests pursuant to Subsections
B and
C above shall be determined by the City Clerk-Treasurer and may fluctuate from year to year based upon the actual cost of clerical time and the unit cost for copying.
No fee shall be charged for the following:
B. Search for records. Any certification by the records
access officer that the record is a true copy of the original.
The City Clerk-Treasurer, as the designated records access officer,
shall be responsible for assuring that City personnel:
A. Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
B. Assist the requester in identifying requested records,
if necessary.
C. Upon locating the records, take one of the following
actions:
(1) Make records available for inspection; or
(2) Deny access to records in whole or in part and explain
in writing the reasons therefor.
D. Upon request for copies of records:
(1) Make a copy available upon payment of established fees.
(2) Permit the requester to copy these records without removing
the same from the office of the records access officer.
E. Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.
F. Upon failure to locate records, certify that:
(1) The agency is not the custodian of such records; or
(2) The records of which the agency is a custodian cannot
be found after diligent search.
The City Clerk-Treasurer shall maintain a reasonably detailed current
list by subject matter of all records in his or her possession, whether or
not the records are available to the public.
The aforementioned subject matter list shall be sufficiently detailed
to permit identification of the category of the records sought.
The aforementioned subject matter list shall be updated not less than
twice per year, and the most recent update shall appear on the first page
of the subject matter list.
The Common Council of the City of Port Jervis, New York, shall hear
appeals or shall designate, in its discretion, an individual or entity to
hear appeals regarding denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information
Law.
A denial of access shall be in writing, stating the reason therefor
and advising the person denied access of his or her right to appeal to the
Common Council of the City of Port Jervis, New York, or to the individual
or entity established by said Council to hear appeals. The written denial
shall set forth the individual or entity designated to hear appeals and shall
identify said appellate agency by name, title, business address and business
telephone number. The records access officer shall not be the appeals officer.
Any person denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of a denial.
The time for deciding an appeal by the Common Council of the City of
Port Jervis, New York, or the individual or entity designated by said Council
to hear appeals, shall commence upon receipt of written appeal identifying:
A. The date and location of a request for records.
B. The records that were denied.
C. The name and return address of the appellant.
The City Clerk-Treasurer shall transmit to the Committee on Open Government
copies of all appeals upon receipt of an appeal. Such copies shall be addressed
to: Committee on Open Government, Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue,
Albany, New York, 12231.
The Common Council of the City of Port Jervis, New York, or the individual
or entity designated by said Council to hear appeals, shall inform the appellant
and the Committee on Open Government of its determination in writing within
seven 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 the
above section.
A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided in these
rules and regulations, shall be subject to court review as provided for in
Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.