[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Gloversville: Art. I, 2-18-1975. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-18-1975]
A. 
These regulations are established pursuant to Article 6 of the Public Officers Law, known as the "Freedom of Information Law."
B. 
These regulations provide the procedures by which records of the city may be obtained for inspection and copies thereof obtained.
C. 
Personnel of the city shall furnish to the public the information and records required by law and those which were furnished to the public prior to enactment of the Freedom of Information Law, subject to the conditions contained in Subdivisions 2 and 7 of § 89 of the Freedom of Information Law, or other provisions of law.
A. 
The Mayor shall be responsible for assuring compliance with these regulations and shall designate one (1) or more persons, by name, or by specific job title, and official address, as records access officer.
B. 
The records access officer shall:
(1) 
Be responsible for assuring appropriate response to public requests for access to records.
(2) 
Assure that appropriate personnel are adequately instructed in and properly perform the functions described in §§ 221-6 and 221-7 of these regulations.
(3) 
Supervise the administration and these regulations.
The Mayor shall designate some person who is charged with certifying the payroll as the "fiscal officer" for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Law. Such fiscal officer shall:
A. 
Respond, in accordance with § 221-6B of these regulations, to requests for an itemized record setting forth the name, address, title and salary of every officer or employee of the city.
B. 
Make the payroll items listed above available to any person, including bona fide members of the news media as provided in §§ 88 Subdivision 3(b) of the Freedom of Information Law.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the following location or at the location where they are kept:
City Hall
3 Frontage Road
Gloversville, New York 12078
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records produced during all hours regularly open for business, except that all records must be returned to their proper custodian at least five (5) minutes before closing time. Hours regularly open for business are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
A. 
Where a request for records is required, such request may be oral or in writing as specified by the records access officer. However, written requests shall not be required for records that have been customarily available without written request.
B. 
Response to request.
(1) 
Except under extraordinary circumstances, officials shall respond to a request for records no more than five (5) business days after receipt of the request, whether the request is oral or in writing.
(2) 
If, because of extraordinary circumstances, more than five (5) business days are required to respond to a request, receipt of the request shall be acknowledged within five (5) business days after the request is received. The acknowledgment shall state the reason for delay and estimate the date when a reply will be made.
C. 
A request for access to records should be sufficiently detailed to identify the records. Where possible, the requester should supply information regarding dates, titles, file designations or other information which may help identify the records. However, a request for any or all records falling within a specific category conforms to the standard that records be identifiable.
D. 
Subject matter list.
(1) 
A current list, by subject matter, of all records produced, filed or first kept or promulgated after September 1, 1974, shall be available for public inspection and copying. The list shall be sufficiently detailed to permit the requester to identify the file category of the records sought.
(2) 
The subject matter list shall be updated periodically and the date of the most recent updating shall appear on the first page. The updating of the subject matter list shall not be less than semiannual. (Note: To assist requesters, a copy of the subject matter list may be filed with regulations governing access to records.)
E. 
Appropriate personnel of the city shall assist the requester in identifying requested records.
F. 
Upon locating the requested records the appropriate personnel of the city shall, as promptly as possible, and within the time limits set in Subsection B above, either:
(1) 
Make the records available for inspection.
(2) 
Deny access, in whole or part, and explain in writing the reasons therefor.
G. 
Upon failure to locate records the appropriate official shall certify that:
(1) 
The city is not the legal custodian of the requested records.
(2) 
The requested records, after diligent search, cannot be found.
A. 
A person who has requested access to the public records of this city shall be given full opportunity to see and inspect such records, unless access is denied as provided in § 221-8 hereof.
B. 
The requester may also make a copy of the records he inspects, but no record may be removed from the office where it is located without the written permission of the person in charge of the office at that time.
C. 
Upon request and payment of the established fee, if any, the appropriate officer or employee shall prepare and deliver a transcript of such records.
D. 
Upon request and payment of the established fee, if any, an appropriate official of the city shall certify as correct a transcript prepared by the custodian of the records.
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 hear appeals.
B. 
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 221-6B of these regulations, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C. 
The Mayor shall designate a person or persons or body designated to hear appeals from denial of access to records.
D. 
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 of the appeal.
(2) 
The date and location of the requests for records.
(3) 
The records to which the requester was denied access.
(4) 
Whether the denial of access was in writing or was by failure to provide records promptly as required by § 221-6B.
(5) 
A copy of the written denial, if any.
(6) 
The name and return address of the requester.
E. 
The individual or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the requester of its decision in writing within seven (7) business days of receipt of an appeal.
F. 
A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided for in Subsection E of this section, shall be subject to court review, as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
A. 
Except as otherwise specifically authorized by law, or by established practice prior to September 1, 1974, there shall be no fee charged for:
(1) 
Inspection of records.
(2) 
Search for records.
(3) 
Any certification pursuant to this chapter.
B. 
The fee for a photocopy transcript of records shall be up to 25 cents ($0.25) per page for pages not exceeding eight and one-half by fourteen (8 1/2 x 14) inches.
C. 
The fee for photocopies of records exceeding eight and one-half by fourteen (8 1/2 x 14) inches per page shall be the actual cost of such photocopies, which shall be deemed to be the average unit cost for making such a photocopy, excluding fixed costs such as operator salaries.
D. 
The fee for a transcript that is typed, handwritten or otherwise prepared by hand shall cover the clerical time involved in making the transcript, including comparison for accuracy.
A notice containing the job title or name and business address of the records access officers and fiscal officer; the name, job title, business address and telephone number of the appeal person or persons 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.