[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Johnson
City: Art. I, 2-27-1978; Art. II, 1-21-1992. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This Village Board hereby promulgates this set of rules and regulations
in accordance with Article 6, § 89, Subdivision 1(b)iii, of the
Public Officers Law, Chapter 933, Laws of 1977.
The Village Clerk is hereby designated as the Records Access Officer
whose business address is Municipal Building, Johnson City, New York 13790.
Said Clerk in turn may refer all applications for access to appropriate persons
within each Village department or agency from whom said records may be obtained.
Persons seeking public records shall make application to the Records
Access Officer upon the application form supplied by said officer.
The fees for copies of records shall be in the sum of twenty-five cents
($0.25) per photocopy not in excess of nine by fourteen (9 x 14) inches or
the actual cost of reproducing any other record except when a different fee
is otherwise prescribed by law.
The Records Access Officer is hereby directed to make available to persons
requesting records those public records which, by law, are required to be
made available for public inspection and copying. Such officer and his or
her designees may deny access to records or portions thereof which are specifically
exempted from disclosure by state or federal statute or other provisions of
the Freedom of Information Law.
No records shall be removed from the lawful custody of any public office
charged with the duty of making, keeping and maintaining such records.
In the event that the request for public records interferes with the
operation of the office of the Village Clerk or any other department or agency
of said Village and makes it difficult or impossible for members of the public
to receive the regular services of the Village Clerk or his or her designees,
the Records Access Officer is hereby authorized to make such records available
at such other times as may not interfere with the orderly operation of Village
government and the administration thereof. In the event that proper application
is made for a public record which is the proper subject of access to the public,
such records, if available, shall be made available within five (5) business
days of receipt of the request.
The records shall be available Monday through Friday except holidays
during all hours the Village offices are regularly opened for business.
The Records Access Officer or his or her designees in each Village department
will maintain an up-to-date subject matter list and assist the requester in
identifying requested records, if necessary. Upon locating the records, said
officer shall make the records available for inspection or deny access to
the records in whole or in part and explain, in writing, the reasons therefor.
Upon request, the Records Access Officer or his or her designees will certify
that a record is a true copy thereof.
Upon failure to locate records requested, the Records Access Officer
or his or her designees will certify that the Village or one (1) of its departments
is not the custodian of such records or that the records which are requested
cannot be found after diligent search.
[Amended 4-16-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
In the event that there is a denial of access to records, such denial
must be in writing, state the reason for the denial, and advise the applicant
of his or her right to appeal. An applicant has 30 days to appeal a denial.
Upon receipt of an appeal, the agency head, governing body or appeals officer
has 10 days to fully explain in writing the reasons for further denial of
access or to provide access to the records.
The purpose of this article is to comply with the spirit and intent
of the Freedom of Information Law, and any provisions of this article which
are inconsistent with said statute shall not affect or impair the validity
of the other provisions of this resolution or the application thereof to other
persons and circumstances.
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1, issued pursuant to
Article 57-A of the Arts and 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:
A. Only those records will be disposed of that are described
in Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 after they have met the
minimum retention period prescribed therein.
B. Only those records will be disposed of that do not have
sufficient administrative, fiscal, legal or historical value to merit retention
beyond established time periods.
The governing body and the chief executive official shall promote and
support a program for the orderly and efficient management of records, including
the identification and appropriate administration of records with enduring
value for historical or other research.