[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Livonia as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 2-9-1994]
The 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 Village officers in disposing of
municipal government records listed therein.
In accordance with Article 57-A:
A.
The Village Clerk is hereby designated as the Village's Records
Management Officer (RMO) and shall direct the Village's records
management program.
B.
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.
C.
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.
[Adopted 5-27-1998 by L.L. No. 6-1998; amended in its entirety at time
of adoption of Code (See Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
The people's right to know the process of government decision-making
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.
These regulations provide information concerning the procedures by
which records may be obtained.
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 Board of Trustees of the Village of Livonia is responsible for
ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates the
Village Clerk and, in his or her absence, the Deputy Village Clerk
as records access officer, who shall be responsible for ensuring appropriate
response to public requests for access to records.
B.
The records access officer is responsible for insuring appropriate
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 ensure that municipality personnel:
(1)
Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
(2)
Assist persons seeking records to identify the records sought, if
necessary, and, when appropriate, indicate the manner in which the
records are filed, retrieved or generated to assist persons in reasonably
describing records.
(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.
(6)
Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying
at:
Office of the Village Clerk
36 Commercial Street
Livonia, New York
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Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and
records produced during all hours regularly open for business.
A.
A written request may be required, but oral requests may be accepted
when records are readily available.
B.
If records are maintained on the Internet, the requester shall be
informed that the records are accessible via the Internet and in printed
form either on paper or other information storage medium.
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 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 acknowledgement,
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 acknowledgement, but circumstances
prevent disclosure within that time, providing a statement in writing
within 20 business days of such acknowledgement 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 municipality, 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 an officer or employee:
(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 acknowledgement 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 acknowledgement of the receipt of a request;
(5)
Determines to grant a request, in whole or in part, within 20 business
days of the acknowledgement of the receipt of a request, but fails
to do so, unless the municipality 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 acknowledgement 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.
C.
The subject matter list shall be updated annually. The most recent
update shall appear on the first page of the subject matter list.
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 Section
5 of these regulations, 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:
Livonia Village Board
Trustees of the Village
36 Commercial Street
Livonia, New York
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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 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
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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 Subsection F 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 nine by 14 inches. This section shall not be construed
to mandate the raising of fees where municipalities in the past have
charged less than $0.25 for such copies;
(2)
The fee for photocopies of records in excess of nine inches by 14
inches shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction; or
(3)
A municipality 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 a municipality 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 municipality of engaging an outside professional
service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when a municipality's
information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy and
if such service is used to prepare the copy.
E.
When a municipality has the ability to retrieve or extract a record or data maintained in a computer storage system with the reasonable effort, or when doing so requires less employee time than engaging in manual retrieval or redactions from nonelectronic records, the municipality shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the municipality may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection D(1) and (2) above.
F.
A municipality 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
employee's time is needed or if it is necessary to retain an
outside professional service to prepare a copy of the record.
G.
A municipality may require that the fee for copying or reproducing
a record be paid in advance of the preparation of such copy.
H.
A municipality may waive a fee, in whole or in part, when making
copies of records available.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of
the records access officers and appeals person or 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.
If any provision of these regulations or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by a court of competent
jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity
of the other provisions of these regulations or the application thereof
to other persons and circumstances.