Village of Tuxedo Park, NY Chapter 21 Records, Public Access to

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Tuxedo Park 10-8-1974, amended in its entirety at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 21-1 Payroll records.

The Mayor, as Chief Fiscal Officer, is hereby designated as the individual to whom a bona fide member of the news media shall direct requests upon the form prescribed by the Comptroller of the State of New York for the inspection of the payroll records of the Village of Tuxedo Park and provide a certified copy. All requests by the news media shall be made directly to the Mayor at his office located at the Village Hall, Lorillard Road, Tuxedo Park, New York, at all hours that the Clerk's office is regularly open for business.

§ 21-2 Records access officers designated.

The following persons shall be called "records access officers," who shall make available to the public all records pertaining to the operation of the particular Tuxedo Park agency, which records shall be kept in the area designated:

A. Village Clerk, Village Office, Tuxedo Park, New York, telephone [phone].

B. Building Inspector, Village Office, Tuxedo Park, New York, telephone [phone].

C. Department of Public Works, Village Office, Tuxedo Park, New York, telephone [phone].

D. Chief of Police, Tuxedo Road, Tuxedo Park, New York, telephone [phone].

E. Village Assessor, Village Office, Tuxedo Park, New York, telephone [phone].

F. Chairman, Fire Commissioners, Village Office, Tuxedo Park, New York, telephone [phone].

§ 21-3 Duties of records access officers.

The records access officers are responsible for the following:

A. Maintaining an up-to-date subject matter list.

B. Assisting the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary.

C. Upon locating the records, taking one of the following actions:

(1) Making records available for inspection.

(2) Denying access to the records in whole or in part and explaining in writing the reasons therefor.

D. Upon request for copies of records:

(1) Making a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any; or

(2) Permitting the requester to hand-copy those records.

E. Upon request, certifying that a record is a true copy.

F. Upon failure to locate records, certifying that:

(1) The agency is not the custodian for such records; or

(2) The records of which the agency is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.

§ 21-4 Location of records.

Each agency shall designate the locations where records shall be available for public inspection and copying.

§ 21-5 Requests for access to records.

A. An agency may require that a request be made in writing or may make records available upon oral request.

B. An agency shall respond to any request reasonably describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt of the request.

C. A request shall reasonably describe the record or records sought. Whenever possible, a person requesting records should supply information that may help to describe the records sought.

D. If the agency does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, the agency 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.

§ 21-6 Subject matter list.

A. Each agency 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 not less than twice per year. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the subject matter list.

§ 21-7 Denial of access to records; appeals.

A. The Village Board of the Village of Tuxedo Park shall hear appeals or shall designate a person or body to hear appeals regarding denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law.

B. 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 person or body established to hear appeals, and that person or body shall be identified by name, title, business address and business telephone number. The records access officer shall not be the appeals officer.

C. If any agency fails to respond to a request within five business days of receipt of a request, as required in § 21-5D of this chapter, such failure shall be deemed a denial of access by the agency.

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 hear appeals shall commence upon receipt of a 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.

F. The agency 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

G. The person or body designated to hear 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 F of this section.

H. A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided for in Subsection G of this section, shall be subject to court review, as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

§ 21-8 Fees.

Fees shall be as follows, 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 pursuant to this chapter.

B. An agency may provide copies of records without charging a fee.

C. An agency 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 inches by 14 inches. This subsection shall not be construed to mandate the raising of fees where agencies in the past have 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 either be 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 C(1) and (2) of this section shall not exceed the actual reproduction cost, which is the average unit cost for copying a record, excluding fixed costs of the agency, such as operator salaries.

§ 21-9 Public notice.

Each agency shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location and/or by publication in a local newspaper of general circulation:

A. The location where records shall be made available for inspection and copying.

B. The name, title, business address and business telephone number of the designated records access officer.

C. The right to appeal by any person denied access to a record, and the name and business address of the person or body to whom an appeal is to be directed.