[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of North
Castle as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-24-1974 (Ch. 42 of the 1987 Code); amended in its entirety 11-18-2015 by L.L. No. 9-2015]
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 of confidentiality.
B.
These regulations
provide information concerning the procedures by which records may
be obtained, as defined by New York State Public Officers Law Article
6, known as the "Freedom of Information Law."
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.
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 Town
Board of the Town of North Castle is responsible for ensuring compliance
with the regulations herein and designates the following person as
Records Access Officer (RAO): Town Clerk, 15 Bedford Road, Armonk,
New York 10504.
B.
The Records
Access Officer (Town Clerk) is responsible for ensuring appropriate
Town 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.
C.
The Records
Access Officer shall ensure that Town personnel:
(1)
Have
available an up-to-date subject matter list, which is defined by New
York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1.
(2)
Assist
persons seeking records to identify the records sought, if necessary.
(3)
Contact
persons seeking records when a request is voluminous or when locating
the records involves substantial effort, so that personnel may ascertain
the nature of records of primary interest and attempt to reasonably
reduce the volume of records requested.
(5)
Upon request for copies of records: make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any, in accordance with § 77-8; or
(6)
Upon
request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
Records shall be available for public inspection at Town offices
located at 15 Bedford Road and 17 Bedford Road, Armonk, New York 10504.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and
records produced during regular business hours.
A.
A written
request is required. The request should be submitted via the Town's
website (FOIL Request Form).
B.
If records
are maintained on the Town website, the requester shall be informed
that the records are accessible via northcastleny.com and provided
with the location of the records requested.
C.
A response
shall be given within five business days of receipt of a request by:
(1)
Informing
a person requesting records that the request or a 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 the 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 Town, and similar factors that bear on the ability
to grant access to records promptly and within a reasonable time.
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 the Records Access Officer:
(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.
Is defined by New York State Records Retention and Disposition
Schedule MU-1.
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 individual
or body established to determine appeals, (who or which) shall be
identified by name, title, business address and business phone number.
B.
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 77-5 of this article, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C.
The following
person or persons or body shall determine appeals regarding denial
of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law: Town Board,
Town Hall, 15 Bedford Road, Armonk, New York 10504, (914) 273-3321.
D.
Any person
denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of a denial.
E.
The time
for deciding an appeal by the individual or body designated to determine
appeals shall commence upon receipt of a written appeal, identifying:
F.
A failure
to determine an appeal within 10 business days of its receipt by granting
access to the records sought or fully explaining the reasons for further
denial in writing shall constitute a denial of the appeal.
G.
The person
or body designated to determine appeals shall transmit to the Committee
on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of the appeals.
Such copies shall be addressed to:
|
Committee on Open Government
Department of State
One Commerce Plaza
99 Washington Avenue, Suite 650
Albany, New York 12231
|
H.
The person or body designated to determine 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 G of this section.
B.
Copies may
be provided without charging a fee.
C.
Fees for
copies may be charged, provided that:
(1)
The
fee for copying records shall not exceed $0.25 per page for photocopies
not exceeding 9 by 14 inches. This section shall not be construed
to mandate the raising of fees where agencies or municipalities in
the past have charged less than $0.25 for such copies;
(2)
The
fee for photocopies of records in excess of 9 by 14 inches shall not
exceed the actual cost of reproduction; or
(3)
The
Town 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.
D.
The fee
the Town may charge for a copy of any other record is based on the
actual cost of reproduction and may include only the following:
(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 Town 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.
E.
When the Town 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 Town shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the Town may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection D(1) and (2) above.
F.
The Town
shall inform a person requesting a record of the estimated cost of
preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of the Town
employee's time is needed or if it is necessary to retain an outside
professional service to prepare a copy of the record.
G.
The Town
may require that the fee for copying or reproducing a record be paid
in advance of the preparation of such copy.
H.
An agency
may waive a fee in whole or in part when making copies of records
available.
A notice containing the title and business address of the Records
Access Officer (Town Clerk) and appeals body (Town Board) and the
location where records can be seen or copies made shall be posted
on the Town website.
[Adopted 11-22-1988 by L.L. No. 3-1988 (Ch. 44 of the 1987
Code); amended in its entirety 11-18-2015 by L.L. No. 9-2015]
Records are essential to the administration of local government.
They contain the information that keeps government programs functioning.
It is the intent of the Town of North Castle that a records management
program be established which will assist officials in making decisions,
administering programs and providing administrative continuity with
past operations. The program would be intended to document delivery
of services, show the legal responsibilities of government and protect
the legal rights of citizens. It will contain information on taxation
and on the management and expenditure of funds. These records will
also document the historical documents of government itself, the community
and the people of the Town of North Castle.
There shall be a records management program established under
the aegis of the Town Supervisor and headed by a Records Management
Officer (RMO). In addition to designation as Records Access Officer,
the Town Clerk is designated as the Records Management Officer and
will be responsible for administering the current and archived public
records in storage areas for the Town of North Castle in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
Records Management Officer and the Records Advisory Committee to have
sufficient historical or other value to warrant continued preservation
by the Town.
Official files, minutes and documents, books, papers, photographs,
sound recordings, microforms or any other materials, whether in print,
electronic or digital forms, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in conjunction with
the transaction of official Town business.
An establishment maintained by the departments or the Records
Management Officer for the storage, servicing, security and processing
of records which must be preserved for varying periods of time and
need not be retained in office equipment or space.
The removal by the Town in accordance with approved records
control schedules of records no longer necessary for the conduct of
business by such agency through removal methods which may include
the disposition of temporary records by destruction or donation or
the transfer of records to a central storage facility for temporary
or permanent storage of records determined to have historical or other
sufficient value warranting continued preservation, and the transfer
of records from one Town agency to another Town agency.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training,
promotion and other managerial activities involved in records creation,
records maintenance and use, and records disposition, including records
preservation, records disposal and the records center or other storage
facilities.
Making information in records available to any agency for
official use or to the public.
A.
The Records Management Officer shall have all the necessary powers
deemed appropriate by the Town Supervisor to carry out the efficient
administration, determination of value, use, preservation, storage
and disposition of the public records kept, filed or received by the
officers and departments of the Town of North Castle.
B.
The Records Management Officer shall continually survey and examine
public records to recommend their classification so as to determine
the most suitable method to be used for the maintaining, storing and
servicing of the following:
(1)
Obsolete and unnecessary records, according to the New York State
retention and disposition schedules, thereby subject to disposition;
(2)
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal, research, historical
or educational value which warrants their permanent retention; or
(3)
Records not subject to disposition according to state law.
C.
The Records Management Officer shall establish guidelines for proper
records management in any department of the Town government in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
D.
The Records Management Officer shall report as needed to the Town
Supervisor and the Town Board on the powers and duties herein mentioned,
including but not limited to the development and progress of programs
to date and planned activities for subsequent years.
E.
The Records Management Officer shall operate a central records management
storage facility for storage, processing and servicing of all Town
records for all Town departments and agencies.
F.
Additional responsibilities of the Records Management Officer include,
but are not limited to:
(1)
The development of a comprehensive records management program.
(2)
The encouragement and coordination of the continuous legal destruction
of obsolete records through the adoption and use of the State Archive
record retention and distribution schedules.
(3)
The development and a suitable retention period for records not covered
by the State Archive records retention and disposition schedules.
(4)
The assistance to each department for the establishment of a records
management system to support the overall Town records management program.
(5)
The setting up and overseeing of a center for the storage of inactive
records.
(6)
The coordinating and carrying out or participating in the planning
for development of advanced records management systems and equipment.
(7)
The preparation of special and annual reports for the Town Supervisor
and the Town Board on records management program progress, cost savings
and cost avoidance problems and additional issues.
There shall be a Records Advisory Committee designated to work
closely with the Records Management Officer. The Committee shall consist
of the Records Management Officer and/or designee, the Town Supervisor,
the Town Attorney and the Town Administrator and/or designee. The
Committee shall meet periodically and have the following duties:
A.
To review the development of the records management program.
B.
To review the performance of the program on an ongoing basis and
propose changes and improvements.
C.
To review retention periods proposed by the Records Management Officer
for records not covered by the State Archive schedules.
D.
To provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival value
and to be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not archival.
E.
To determine if a grant application should be submitted to New York
State and determine project scope and application process.
The Records Management Officer (RMO) shall be responsible for
archiving and destruction of all Town-related records with the exception
of police and court-related records. The records management staff
works with all departments with respect to maintenance of Town records.
The Town of North Castle Records Management Policy and Procedures
Manual describes department operations with respect to managing, scanning,
archiving and destruction procedures.
A.
Active
records. The originating department has full custody (legal and physical)
over paper records stored in each department.
B.
Inactive
records. The originating department is the legal custodian of its
inactive paper records until a records transfer or records destruction
form is submitted to the RMO for transfer to archives and disposition
as per the New York State MU-1 or applicable state or federal retention
schedule. Once moved from the originating department, the RMO will
have physical custody of records and will determine the method and
storage within the archives and the eventual destruction therein.
C.
Digital
records stored in electronic content management system (ECMS). Active
and inactive records stored in the Town's ECMS are the responsibility
of the RMO. The Records Management Officer is responsible for the
custody and maintenance, including monitoring the successful completion
of database backups of the Town's ECMS, and acts as the ECMS Administrator.
Department scanning projects and business processes are developed
collaboratively between records management staff and individual departmental
personnel.
D.
Archival
records. Records transferred to or acquired by the archives shall
be under the full custody (legal or physical) of the archives, as
directed by the RMO, rather than the department which created or held
them immediately prior to being transferred to the archives.
(1)
Paper
records shall be transferred to the archives upon the recommendation
of the RMO, with the approval of the department head having custody
of the records.
(2)
Paper
records may be removed temporarily from the archives at the request
of the RMO or department head originally having custody of the records.
E.
Disposition
of records. No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed by
any employee or Town official until it has met the time limit of the
applicable retention schedule. No records shall be destroyed or otherwise
disposed by the Records Management Officer without the express written
consent of the authorized department head. No records shall be destroyed
that are part of a pending audit, litigation or e-discovery.
