[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Alden
12-2-1974; amended in its entirety 3-5-2018. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
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.
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 Alden is responsible for insuring compliance
with the regulations herein and designates the following person(s)
as records access officer(s):
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Alden Town Clerk
3311 Wende Road
Alden, N.Y. 14004
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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.
C.
The records access officer shall insure that agency 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: Alden Town Clerk's Office, 3311 Wende Road Alden, New York
14004.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and
records produced during all hours regularly open for business. These
hours are: 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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 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.
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 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 Section 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 § A372-5 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:
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Town of Alden Supervisor
3311 Wende Road
Alden, New York 14004
(716) 937-6969
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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:
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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 inches 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 nine inches by 14
inches shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction; or
(3)
An agency 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 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:
(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.
E.
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 D(1) and (2) above.
F.
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.
G.
An agency 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 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.
