Town of Hamlin, NY Chapter 100 Records

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Hamlin as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I Public Access to Records

[Adopted 5-19-1987 by L.L. No. 6-1987 (Ch. 84 of the 1987 Code)]

§ 100-1 Purpose, scope and construal of provisions.

A. The people's right to know the process of government decisionmaking and 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. This article provides information concerning the procedures by which records may be obtained from the Town of Hamlin, hereinafter "the Town."

C. The Town personnel shall furnish to the public the information and records required by the Freedom of Information Law,[1] as well as records otherwise available by law.

[1] Editor's Note: See § 84 et seq. of the Public Officers Law.

§ 100-2 Records access officer.

A. The Town Clerk's office shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and shall designate one or more persons as records access officer by name or by specific job title and business address, who shall have the duty of coordinating response to public requests for access to records. The designation of one or more records access officers 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.

B. The records access officer is responsible for assuring that the Town 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.

(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:

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

(b) Permit the requester to copy those records.

(5) Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.

(6) Upon failure to locate records, certify that:

(a) The Clerk is not the custodian for such records; or

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

§ 100-3 Location of records available for inspection.

Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the Town Hall, 1658 Lake Road, Hamlin, New York.

§ 100-4 Hours for inspection.

A. Requests for public access to records shall be accepted during normal working hours of the Town Clerk.

B. Records will be produced for examination and copying during hours that the Clerk's office is regularly open for business.

§ 100-5 Requests for access.

A. All requests for records shall be made in writing.

B. Requests for records shall be honored within five business days of receipt of such request.

C. Requests shall reasonably describe the record or records sought. Whenever possible, the request shall specify dates, file designations or other information that might help in describing the record sought.

D. Should the Clerk fail to provide or deny access to the records sought within five business days of the receipt of such request, the Clerk 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. Failure of the Clerk to either grant or deny a request within 20 business days after the date of acknowledgment of receipt of a request shall be construed as a denial of access that may be appealed.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 100-6 Subject matter list.

A. The Clerk shall maintain a reasonably detailed current list, by subject matter, of all records in his 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 annually. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the subject matter list.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 100-7 Denial of access; appeals.

A. The Town Board 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 an agency fails to respond to a request within five business days of receipt of a request as required in § 100-5D, 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 Town Board shall commence upon receipt of 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 Town Board shall transmit to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of an appeal. Such copies shall be addressed to:[1]

Committee on Open Government Department of State One Commerce Plaza 99 Washington Avenue Suite 650 Albany, New York 12231

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

G. The Town Board shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of the 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.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

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.

§ 100-8 Fees.

Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, the fees for copies of records shall not exceed $0.25 per photocopy not in excess of nine inches by 14 inches or the actual cost of reproducing any other record.

§ 100-9 Public notice.

The Town 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 or to which an appeal is to be directed.

Article II Records Management

[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]

§ 100-10 Adoption of records retention and disposition schedule.

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.