[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Thompson as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-7-1981 by L.L.
No. 5-1981 (Ch. 62, Art. I, of the 2003 Code); amended
in its entirety at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
A.
The people's right to know the process of government decisionmaking
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.
These regulations provide information concerning the procedures by
which records may be obtained.
C.
Personnel shall furnish to the public the information and records
required by the Freedom of Information Law, as well as records otherwise
available by law.
D.
Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records shall
be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public
records.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Thompson is responsible for ensuring
compliance with the regulations herein, and designates the following
person(s) as records access officer(s): Town Clerk.
B.
The records access officer is 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. The records access
officer shall ensure that agency personnel:
(1)
Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
(2)
Assist persons seeking records to identify the records sought, if
necessary, and, when appropriate, indicate the manner in which the
records are filed, retrieved or generated to assist persons in reasonably
describing records.
(3)
Contact persons seeking records when a request is voluminous or when
locating the records involves substantial effort, so that personnel
may ascertain the nature of records of primary interest and attempt
to reasonably reduce the volume of records requested.
(6)
Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying
at:
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Thompson Town Hall
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4052 Rt. 42
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Monticello, NY 12701
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Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and
records produced during all hours regularly open for business. These
hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
A.
A written request may be required, but oral requests may be accepted
when records are readily available.
B.
If records are maintained on the internet, the requester shall be
informed that the records are accessible via the internet and in printed
form, either on paper or other information storage medium.
C.
A response shall be given within five business days of receipt of
a request by:
(1)
Informing a person requesting records that the request or portion
of the request does not reasonably describe the records sought, including
direction, to the extent possible, that would enable that person to
request records reasonably described;
(2)
Granting or denying access to records in whole or in part;
(3)
Acknowledging the receipt of a request, in writing, including an
approximate date when the request will be granted or denied in whole
or in part, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the
request and shall not be more than 20 business days after the date
of the acknowledgment, or if it is known that circumstances prevent
disclosure within 20 business days from the date of such acknowledgment,
providing a statement, in writing, indicating the reason for inability
to grant the request within that time and a date certain, within a
reasonable period under the circumstances of the request, when the
request will be granted in whole or in part; or
(4)
If the receipt of request was acknowledged, in writing, and included
an approximate date when the request would be granted in whole or
in part within 20 business days of such acknowledgment, but circumstances
prevent disclosure within that time, providing a statement, in writing,
within 20 business days of such acknowledgment specifying the reason
for the inability to do so and a date certain, within a reasonable
period under the circumstances of the request, when the request will
be granted in whole or in part.
D.
In determining a reasonable time for granting or denying a request
under the circumstances of a request, personnel shall consider the
volume of a request, the ease or difficulty in locating, retrieving
or generating records, the complexity of the request, the need to
review records to determine the extent to which they must be disclosed,
the number of requests received by the agency, and similar factors
that bear on the ability to grant access to records promptly and within
a reasonable time.
E.
A failure to comply with the time limitations described herein shall
constitute a denial of a request that may be appealed. Such failure
shall include situations in which an officer or employee:
(1)
Fails to grant access to the records sought, deny access, in writing,
or acknowledge the receipt of a request within five business days
of the receipt of a request;
(2)
Acknowledges the receipt of a request within five business days but
fails to furnish an approximate date when the request will be granted
or denied in whole or in part;
(3)
Furnishes an acknowledgment of the receipt of a request within five
business days with an approximate date for granting or denying access
in whole or in part that is unreasonable under the circumstances of
the request;
(4)
Fails to respond to a request within a reasonable time after the
approximate date given or within 20 business days after the date of
the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request;
(5)
Determines to grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business
days of the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request, but fails
to do so, unless the agency provides the reason for its inability
to do so, in writing, and a date certain within which the request
will be granted in whole or in part;
(6)
Does not grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business days
of the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request and fails to provide
the reason, in writing, explaining the inability to do so and a date
certain by which the request will be granted in whole or in part;
or
(7)
Responds to a request, stating that more than 20 business days is
needed to grant or deny the request in whole or in part and provides
a date certain within which that will be accomplished, but such date
is unreasonable under the circumstances of the request.
A.
The records access officer shall maintain a reasonably detailed current
list by subject matter of all records in its possession, whether or
not records are available pursuant to Subdivision 2 of § 87
of the Public Officers Law.
B.
The subject matter list shall be sufficiently detailed to permit
identification of the category of the record sought.
C.
The subject matter list shall be updated annually. The most recent
update shall appear on the first page of the subject matter list.
A.
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 determine appeals, who shall be
identified by name, title, business address and business phone number.
B.
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 74-5 of these regulations, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C.
The following person or persons or body shall determine appeals regarding
denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law:
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Town Attorney
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4052 Rt. 42
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Monticello, NY 12701
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845-794-2500
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D.
Any person denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of
a denial.
E.
The time for deciding an appeal by the individual or body designated
to determine appeals shall commence upon receipt of a written appeal
identifying:
F.
A failure to determine an appeal within 10 business days of its receipt
by granting access to the records sought or fully explaining the reasons
for further denial, in writing, shall constitute a denial of the appeal.
G.
The person or body designated to determine appeals shall transmit
to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt
of appeals. Such copies shall be addressed to:
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Committee on Open Government
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Department of State
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One Commerce Plaza
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99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650
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Albany, NY 12231
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H.
The person or body designated to determine appeals 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 G of this section.
B.
Copies may be provided without charging a fee.
C.
Fees for copies may be charged, provided that:
(1)
The fee for copying records shall not exceed $0.25 per page for photocopies
not exceeding nine inches by 14 inches. This section shall not be
construed to mandate the raising of fees where agencies or municipalities
in the past have charged less that $0.25 for such copies;
(2)
The fee for photocopies of records in excess of nine inches by 14
inches shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction; or
(3)
An agency has the authority to redact portions of a paper record
and does so prior to disclosure of the record by making a photocopy
from which the proper redactions are made.
D.
The fee an agency may charge for a copy of any other record is based
on the actual cost of reproduction and may include only the following:
(1)
An amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest-paid
employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare a copy of
the requested record, but only when more than two hours of the employee's
time is necessary to do so; and
(2)
The actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person
making the request in complying with such request; or
(3)
The actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional
service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's
information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy,
and if such service is used to prepare the copy.
E.
When an agency has the ability to retrieve or extract a record or data maintained in a computer storage system with reasonable effort, or when doing so requires less employee time than engaging in manual retrieval or redactions from nonelectronic records, the agency shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the agency may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection D(1) and (2) above.
F.
An agency shall inform a person requesting a record of the estimated
cost of preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of an
agency employee's time is needed, or if it is necessary to retain
an outside professional service to prepare a copy of the record.
G.
An agency may require that the fee for copying or reproducing a record
be paid in advance of the preparation of such copy.
H.
An agency may waive a fee in whole or in part when making copies
of records available.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of
the records access officers and appeals person or 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.
If any provision of these regulations or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity
of the other provisions of these regulations or the application thereof
to other persons and circumstances.
[Adopted 11-1-1994 by L.L. No. 6-1994 (Ch. 62, Art. II, of the 2003 Code)]
There shall be a records management program
established under the aegis of the Town Board headed by a records
management officer (RMO). The officer will be responsible for administering
the noncurrent and archival public records and storage areas for the
Town in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
The RMO shall be the Town Clerk or his designee.
The officer shall have all the necessary powers
to carry out the efficient administration, determination of value,
use, preservation, storage and disposition of the noncurrent and archival
public records kept, filed or received by the offices and departments
of the Town.
A.
The records management officer shall continually survey
and examine public records to recommend their classification so as
to determine the most suitable methods to be used for the maintaining,
storing and servicing of archival material:
(1)
Obsolete and unnecessary records according to New
York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules thereby subject
to disposition;
(2)
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal,
research, historical or educational value which warrants its permanent
retention; or
(3)
Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B.
The records management officer shall establish guidelines
for proper records management in any department or agency of the Town
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The records management officer shall report annually
to the chief executive official and the governing body on the powers
and duties herein mentioned, including but not limited to the cost/benefit
ratio of programs effectuated by the department.
D.
The officer shall operate a records management center
for the storage, processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival
records for all Town departments and agencies.
E.
The officer shall establish a Town archives and perform
the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist Town departments in reviewing and
selecting material to be transferred to the Town archives for preservation.
(2)
Continually survey and examine public records to determine
the most suitable methods to be used for the creating, maintaining,
storing and servicing of archival materials.
(3)
Establish and maintain an adequate repository for
the proper storage, conservation, processing and servicing of archival
records.
(4)
Promulgate rules governing public access to and use
of records in the archives, subject to the approval of the Records
Advisory Board.
(5)
Develop a confidentiality policy for archival records
designated confidential, provided that such policy does not conflict
with any federal or state statutes.
(6)
Provide information services to other Town offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official
Town records but which have associational value to the Town or a close
relationship to the existing archival collection. Such collecting
shall be subject to archive space, staff and cost limitations and
to the potential endangerment of such materials if they are not collected
by the archives.
(8)
Develop a procedure whereby historically important
records are to be identified at the point of generation.
There shall be a Records Advisory Board designated
to work closely with and provide advice to the records management
officer. The Board shall consist of the Town Board, Town Attorney
and Town Comptroller. The Board shall meet periodically and have the
following duties:
A.
Provide advice to the records management officer on
the development of the records management program.
B.
Review the performance of the program on an ongoing
basis and propose changes and improvements.
C.
Review retention periods proposed by the records management
office for records not covered by state archives' schedules.
D.
Provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival
value and to be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not
archival.
A.
A Town department is the legal custodian of its records
and shall retain custody of records deposited in the records center.
Records transferred to or acquired by the archives shall be under
the custody and control of the archives rather than the department
which created or held them immediately prior to their being transferred
to the archives.
B.
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon
the recommendation of the RMO, with the approval of the head of the
department which has custody of the records and the approval of the
Records Advisory Board.
C.
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the RMO 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.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed
of by a department of the Town unless approval has been obtained from
the records management officer. No records shall be destroyed or otherwise
disposed of by the records management officer without the express
written consent of the department head having authority.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
officer and Advisory Board to have sufficient historical or other
value to warrant their continued preservation by the local government.
Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings,
microforms or any other materials, regardless of physical form or
characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or
in connection with the transaction of official Town business.
An establishment maintained by the Town primarily for the
storage, servicing, security and processing of records which must
be preserved for varying periods of time and need not be retained
in office equipment or space.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training,
promotion and other managerial use and records disposition, including
records preservation, records disposal and records centers or other
storage facilities.
Making information in records available to any Town agency
for official use or to the public.
