[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Wesley Hills 3-8-1983 by Res. No. 22-83. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
The people's right to know the process of government decisionmaking
and the documents of statistics leading to determinations is basic
to our society. Access to such decisionmaking should not be thwarted
by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.
B.
These regulations provide information concerning the procedures by
which the records may be obtained.
C.
Personnel shall furnish to the public the information and records
required by the Freedom of Information Act, as well as records otherwise
available by law.
D.
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 Wesley Hills is responsible
for insuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates
the following person as records access officer: Village Clerk, with
offices at 432 Route 306, Wesley Hills, NY 10952.[1]
B.
The records access officer is responsible for insuring appropriate
agency response to public requests for access to records. The designation
of a 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 insure that personnel:
(1)
Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list;
(2)
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;[2]
(5)
Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying
at: Village offices, 432 Route 306, Wesley Hills, NY 10952.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and
records produced during all hours Village Hall is regularly open for
business.
A.
A written request may be required, but oral requests may be accepted
when records are readily available.
C.
A response shall be given within five business days of receipt of
a request by:[2]
(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 indicating 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
within 20 business days of such acknowledgment specifying 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.
D.
In determining a reasonable time for granting or denying a request
under the circumstances of a request, personnel shall consider the
volume of a request, the ease or difficulty in locating, retrieving
or generating records, the complexity of the request, the need to
review records to determine the extent to which they must be disclosed,
the number of requests received by the agency, and similar factors
that bear on the ability to grant access to records promptly and within
a reasonable time.[3]
E.
A failure to comply with the time limitations described herein shall
constitute a denial of a request that may be appealed. Such failure
shall include situations in which an officer or employee:[4]
(1)
Fails to grant access to the records sought, deny access in writing
or acknowledge the receipt of a request within five business days
of the receipt of a request;
(2)
Acknowledges the receipt of a request within five business days but
fails to furnish an approximate date when the request will be granted
or denied in whole or in part;
(3)
Furnishes an acknowledgment of the receipt of a request within five
business days with an approximate date for granting or denying access
in whole or in part that is unreasonable under the circumstances of
the request;
(4)
Fails to respond to a request within a reasonable time after the
approximate date given or within 20 business days after the date of
the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request;
(5)
Determines to grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business
days of the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request but fails to
do so, unless the agency provides the reason for its inability to
do so in writing and a date certain within which the request will
be granted in whole or in part;
(6)
Does not grant a request in whole or in part within 20 business days
of the acknowledgment of the receipt of a request and fails to provide
the reason in writing explaining the inability to do so and a date
certain by which the request will be granted in whole or in part;
or
(7)
Responds to a request, stating that more than 20 business days is
needed to grant or deny the request in whole or in part and provides
a date certain within which that will be accomplished, but such date
is unreasonable under the circumstances of the request.
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.
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, who or which shall be identified
by name, title, business address and business phone number.
B.
If the requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 168-5D of this chapter, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C.
The following body shall hear appeals for the denial of access to
records under the Freedom of Information Law: Village Board of the
Village of Wesley Hills, 432 Route 306, Wesley Hills, NY 10952, (845)
354-0400.
D.
The time for deciding an appeal by the body designated to hear appeals
shall commence upon the receipt of a written appeal identifying:
(1)
The date and location of the requests for records;
(2)
A description, to the extent possible, of the records to which the
requester was denied access;
(3)
Whether the denial of access was in writing or due to failure to provide records promptly as required by § 168-5D; and
(4)
The name and the 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 the receipt of
an appeal. Failure to determine an appeal within said 10 business
days by granting access to the records sought or fully explaining
the reasons for further denial in writing shall constitute a denial
of the 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:
|
Committee on Open Government
Department of State
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650
Albany, NY 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.
H.
Any person denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of
a denial.
B.
Copies of records shall be provided upon payment of a fee as follows:
C.
The fee an agency may charge for a copy of any other record is based
on the actual cost of reproduction and may include only the following:[2]
(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 is 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 an agency's
information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy,
and if such service is used to prepare the copy.
D.
When an agency 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 agency shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the agency may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection C(1) and (2) above.[3]
E.
An agency shall inform a person requesting a record of the estimated
cost of preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of an
agency employee's time is needed or if it is necessary to retain
an outside professional service to prepare a copy of the record.[4]
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.
