[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of North Collins at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. The people's right to know the process of governmental decisionmaking
and to review 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.
A. The following records, pursuant to village and state law, are not
accessible to the public:
(1) Those which are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or
federal statute.
(2) Those which, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy under the provisions of Subdivision 2 of § 89
of the Public Officers Law.
(3) Those which, if disclosed, would impair present or imminent contract
awards or collective bargaining negotiations.
(4) Those which are trade secrets or are maintained for the regulation
of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial
injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise.
(5) Those which are compiled for law enforcement purposes and which,
if disclosed, would:
(a)
Interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings.
(b)
Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication.
(c)
Identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information
relating to a criminal investigation.
(d)
Reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures, except
routine techniques and procedures.
(6) Those which, if disclosed, would endanger the life or safety of any
person.
(7) Those which are interagency or intraagency materials which are not:
(a)
Statistical or factual tabulations or data.
(b)
Instructions to staff that affect the public.
(c)
Final agency policy or determinations.
(d)
External audits, including but not limited to audits performed
by the Comptroller and the federal government.
(8) Those which are examination questions or answers which are requested
prior to the final administration of such questions.
(9) Those which are computer access codes.
B. Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records shall
be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public
records.
A. The Board of Trustees of the Village of North Collins is responsible
for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates
the Village Clerk as records access officer.
B. The records access officer is responsible for ensuring appropriate
agency response to public requests for access to records. The designation
of 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 personnel:
(1) Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
(2) Assist the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary.
(3) Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:
(a)
Make records available for inspection; or
(b)
Deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in
writing the reasons therefor.
(4) Upon request for copies of records, make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any, in accordance with §
136-9.
(5) Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.
(6) Upon failure to locate records, certify that:
(a)
The Village of North Collins is not the custodian for such records;
or
(b)
The records of which the Village of North Collins is custodian
cannot be found after diligent search.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying
at the office of the Village Clerk.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and
records produced during all hours the Village Clerk's office
is regularly open for business.
A. A written request is required.
B. A response shall be given regarding 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
regarding dates, file designations or other information that may help
to describe the records sought.
D. If the records access officer does not provide or deny access to
the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request,
he or she 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, such failure may be construed as a denial of
access that may be appealed.
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 not less than twice per
year. 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
body established to hear appeals.
B. If requested records are not provided promptly as required in §
136-6D of this chapter, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C. The Board of Trustees of the Village of North Collins shall hear
appeals from denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information
Law.
D. The time for deciding an appeal by the body designated to hear appeals
shall commence upon receipt of written appeal identifying:
(2) The date and location of the request for records.
(3) The records to which the requester was denied access.
(4) Whether the denial of access was in writing or due to failure to provide records promptly as required by §
136-6D.
(5) The name and return address of the requester.
E. The body designated to hear appeals shall inform the requester of
its decision in writing within 10 business days of receipt of an appeal.
F. The body designated to hear appeals shall transmit to the Committee
on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of appeals.
Such copies shall be addressed to the Committee on Open Government,
Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231.
G. The 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.
A. There shall be no fee charged for:
(3) Any certification pursuant to this chapter.
B. Copies of records shall be provided according to the following fee
schedule:
(1) The fee for photocopies not exceeding nine by fourteen (9 x 14) inches
is $0.25 per page.
(2) The fee for copies of records other than photocopies which are nine
inches by 14 inches or less shall be the actual copying cost, excluding
fixed agency costs such as salaries.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of
the records access officer and appeals 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.