The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens of the City of Middletown through the authorization of fingerprinting and background checks for applicants who wish to be volunteer firefighters in the City or who wish to be employed by the City's Department of Recreation. In addition, because persons who obtain peddllers' or solicitors' permits under Chapter
353 of the Code of the City of Middletown may go door to door to conduct their business, this enactment is designed to authorize the fingerprinting and background checks of those persons who apply for such permits.
Background checks, which include fingerprint inquiries to the
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services ("NYS DCJS")
in order to access criminal history record information and other types
of consumer reports, are hereby authorized and required for the following
positions and licenses:
A. Applicants who wish to become volunteer firefighters in the City
of Middletown Fire Department.
B. Applicants who wish to work in the City of Middletown Department
of Recreation and who will have direct access to, or work directly
with, minors.
C. Applicants who wish to work in the City of Middletown Department
of Public Works.
D. Applicants who seek a solicitor's or peddler's permit pursuant to Chapter
353 of the Code of the City of Middletown.
E. Applicants who seek a taxicab driver's license pursuant to Chapter
433 of the Code of the City of Middletown.
Any and all criminal background checks supplied to the reviewing
authority shall be filed and maintained in a secure and locked cabinet
under the custody of the Chief of Police or his designee and shall
not be available to the public. Such records shall be exempt from
public disclosure under the New York Freedom of Information Law. The
records shall only be retained for such period of time as necessary
for the reviewing authority to review the background check for compliance
with this chapter. The records shall be destroyed after an applicant
is deemed qualified by the reviewing authority. In the event the reviewing
authority determines an applicant's application is denied, that
individual's background check records shall not be destroyed
until and unless the applicant exhausts all available appeal rights,
administratively and through court.