[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Sleepy Hollow 10-10-1978 by L.L. No. 1-1978 (Ch. 43 of the 1965 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 200.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis of the Village Clerk's Office and headed by the Village Clerk as Records Management Officer (RMO). The RMO will be responsible for administering the noncurrent and archival public records and storage areas for the Village of Sleepy Hollow in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines. The Village Clerk shall have the option to appoint a designee to perform this function with the prior approval of the Mayor.
The records access officers, under the coordination of the Village Clerk, shall be responsible for assuring that Village personnel:
A. 
Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
B. 
Assist the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary, and, when appropriate, indicate the manner in which the records are filed, retrieved or generated to assist persons in reasonably describing records.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
C. 
Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:
(1) 
Make records available for inspection.
(2) 
Deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the reasons therefor.
D. 
Upon request for copies of records to which access is granted, take one of the following actions:
(1) 
Make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees as set forth in § 80-8 hereof.
(2) 
Permit the requester to copy those records.
E. 
Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.
F. 
Upon failure to locate records, certify that:
(1) 
The Village is not the custodian for such records.
(2) 
The records of which the Village is a custodian cannot be found after a diligent search.
G. 
Contact persons seeking records when a request is voluminous or when locating the records sought involves substantial effort, so that agency personnel may ascertain the nature of records of primary interest and attempt to reasonably reduce the volume of the records requested.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
The records access officers shall accept requests for public access to records, other than those having to do with police matters, and shall produce records during all hours that the offices of the Village Clerk, Treasurer and Building Inspector are regularly open for business. With respect to records having to do with police matters, the duties of all Village records access officers shall be deemed automatically delegated to the Chief of Police, to whom the records access officer shall forward all requests for access to police records, and he shall also be authorized to directly accept and act on requests for access to police records during all hours that the office of the Chief of Police is regularly open for business at police headquarters at 28 Beekman Avenue.
The records access officers and the Chief of Police may make records available only upon written request upon a form prescribed by the Village, a copy of which is made a part of this chapter.[1] 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. Records requested must be readily identifiable, and all requests should be presented in an orderly fashion, avoiding narrative and prolix requests.
[1]
Editor's Note: Copies of the form are on file in the Village offices.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
A. 
The records access officers and the Chief of Police shall respond to any request reasonably describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt of the 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 stating 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 with 20 business days of such acknowledgment stating 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.
B. 
If the record sought is not provided and if access thereto is not denied within five business days of receipt of a request, the records access officer or the Chief of Police 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 20 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 as set forth in § 80-7 hereof.
The records access officer and the Chief of Police shall each maintain a reasonably detailed current list by subject matter of all records in their possession, whether or not records are available pursuant to § 87(2) of the Public Officers Law. The subject matter lists shall be sufficiently detailed to permit identification of the category of the record sought and 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. 
Any person denied access to records may appeal, within 30 days of such denial, to the Mayor, who is hereby designated to hear and act on all appeals from a denial of access to records by a records access officer or the Chief of Police.
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 Mayor, who shall be identified by name, title and official address.
C. 
The time for deciding an appeal, by the Mayor, 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.
D. 
The Village Clerk shall transmit to the State Committee on Open Government a copy of each appeal upon its receipt. Such copies shall be addressed to:
The Committee on Open Government
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650
Albany, New York 12231
E. 
The Mayor shall inform the appellant and the State Committee on Open Government of his determination of an appeal, in writing, within seven business days of the receipt of the appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the State Committee on Open Government in the same manner as set forth in Subsection D of this section.
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.
Except where a different fee is otherwise provided for by law:
A. 
There shall be no fee charged for the following:
(1) 
Inspection of records for which no redaction is permitted.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
(2) 
Search for records.
(3) 
Any certification pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law.
B. 
The records access officer and the Chief of Police may charge a fee for copies of records, provided that:
(1) 
The fee for copying records for photocopies not exceeding nine inches by 14 inches shall be established and determined by the Board of Trustees from time to time and set forth in the fee schedule included at the end of Chapter 200, Fees.
[Amended 7-6-1981 by L.L. No. 3-1981; 8-16-1994 by L.L. No. 11-1994]
(2) 
At times when photocopying equipment is not in operation or is not available, a transcript of the requested records shall be made upon request. Such transcripts may be either typed or handwritten. In such cases, the person requesting records shall be charged for the clerical time involved in making the transcript, such fee to be payable in advance of transcription.
(3) 
The fee for copies of records not covered by Subsection B(1) and (2) of this section shall not exceed the actual reproduction cost, which is the average unit cost for copying a record.
(4) 
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.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
C. 
The fee the Village may charge for a copy of any other record is based on the actual cost of reproduction and may include only the following:
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
(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 are 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 the Village’s information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, and if such service is used to prepare the copy.
D. 
When the Village 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 Village shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the Village may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection C(1) and (2) of this section.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
E. 
The Village shall inform a person requesting a record of the estimated cost of preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of a Village employee's time are needed, or if it is necessary to retain an outside professional service to prepare a copy of the record.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
F. 
The Village may require that the fee for copying or reproducing a record be paid in advance of the preparation of such copy.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
G. 
The Village may waive a fee in whole or in part when making copies of records available.
[Added 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
In the denial or granting of access to records hereunder, the records access officer, the Chief of Police, the Mayor and all other Village personnel involved shall be guided by the mandates, rules and exceptions as set forth in the Freedom of Information Law. In no case shall original records be removed from the lawful custody of any officer charged with the duty of maintaining such records. In the event that any question should arise as to the necessity or propriety of the granting of access to any records under the Freedom of Information Law, such as whether such access would result in an unwarranted invasion of privacy or a disclosure of information that must be confidential in order to safeguard law enforcement, or a similar question, the records access officer and/or Chief of Police and/or Mayor shall confer with the Village Attorney prior to making a final decision as to granting access.
[Amended 1-22-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
The Village Clerk is hereby directed to publish in any newspaper currently designated by the Board of Trustees as an official newspaper of the Village, a public notice containing the following information:
A. 
The fact that such police records as may be made available pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law of the State of New York will be made available for inspection and copying at the office of the Chief of Police at police headquarters at 28 Beekman Avenue and that all other Village records that are to be made so available pursuant to the statute will be made available for inspection and copying at the office of the Village Clerk, Treasurer and Building Inspector in Village Hall, 28 Beekman Avenue.
B. 
The name, title and business address and telephone number of the personnel designated as records access officers hereunder.
C. 
The right to appeal by any person denied access to a record by either the records access officers or the Chief of Police and the business address and name of the Mayor to whom an appeal is to be directed.