[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dryden as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-24-1996 (Sec. 10615 of the 1996 Code)]
To provide maximum service to Village departments in compliance with New York State's Local Government Records Law. This article governs the life cycle of the public record from its creation, through its active life to its ultimate disposition. This includes secure storage and retrieval, destruction, reproduction or permanent preservation as required or deemed appropriate by the Board of Trustees. This article includes information in any form (textual, pictorial, cartographic, audio-visual, or machine-readable) created or received, and owned by the Village and used to conduct Village business.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ARCHIVAL RECORDS
Permanent records which are not current and are not required to be retained in the office in which they originate or are received. "Permanent records" means records which have permanent or enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, research or historical value and, in consequence thereof, should be retained and preserved indefinitely.
CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS
Records which, because of their subject matter, may only be used by a limited number of Village employees or officials.
INACTIVE or DISPOSABLE RECORDS
Records which have temporary value and, in consequence, may be destroyed after the lapse of a specified time, or after the occurrence of some act which renders them valueless.
OFFICIAL RECORDS
Records which are available to Village employees and officials, but which are not made available to the public.
PUBLIC RECORDS
Publicly distributed information which is available to anyone.
RECORD SERIES
Any groups of related records which are normally used and filed as a unit and which permit evaluation as a unit for disposition purposes.
RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULE
A list indicating the length of time records must be retained as well as the appropriate means of disposition for the records.
RETENTION PERIOD
The period of time that must elapse before the records are disposed.
VILLAGE RECORDS
Paper documents including both written and printed matter, books, drawings, maps, plans, photographs; microforms; motion-picture films, sound and video recordings; computerized data on disk or tape; or copies thereof made or received by an office of the Village in connection with the transaction of Village business, and retained by such office as evidence of the activities of the Village or because of the information contained therein.
A. 
Nonrecords. Include certain categories of materials found in Village offices which are not considered official Village records:
(1) 
Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, stocks of publications and of processed documents, and extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference; and
(2) 
Personal papers not relating to the official functions of an office or created in pursuance of non-Village activities.
A. 
Village records, regardless of format, have a life span and eventually become inactive in their offices of origin. At that time, it is in the best interests of the Village for reasons of economy, efficiency, history, or administrative necessity to determine and carry out the most appropriate disposition of these records. Records will be either judged to be archival in accordance with state statute and stored in one of the Village's storage locations, or they will be judged disposable and will be destroyed in a systematic manner as outlined in this article.
B. 
Village records in custody of their originating and receiving offices are Village property and may not be disposed of except through policy and guidelines established herein. Access to Village records still in originating or receiving offices is governed by statute, regulation, or by other existing Village policies and guidelines.
C. 
Authorization to access. The general public's access to a particular department's records may only be granted with the approval of the department head.
D. 
Freedom of information requests. Requests shall be directed to the department that has legal custody of the record, as required by statute.
E. 
Archival records. Village records will be available for public inspection, photocopying, and general research use subject to those constraints which may apply by virtue of statute, regulation, Village policy or guideline.
F. 
Records retention and disposition schedule. Schedule LGS-1, Retention and Disposition Schedule for New York Local Government Records, will be used to determine retention periods for Village records.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III)]
G. 
Purpose. To provide uniform, effective and systematic control on records keeping and destruction. To ensure that valuable records are preserved and that records of a temporary nature are disposed of when no longer needed.
A. 
Destruction of Village records.
(1) 
Authority for destruction. No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department of the Village unless approval has been obtained from the Department Head. If necessary or helpful, the Records Management Officer will be consulted.
(2) 
To implement destruction or archival storage:
(a) 
Each department will manage the retention and disposition of records under its control. Questions will be directed to the Records Management Officer.
(3) 
Disposable records which are considered confidential or restricted should be shredded or burned; disposable records which are considered official or public should be recycled if possible or disposed of with regular trash.
B. 
Authorization for reformatting records:
(1) 
Purpose of reformatting records. Village records in paper format may be microfilmed, scanned for storage in optical or other computerized media, or rekeyed and converted to computerized storage to miniaturize for the purposes of reducing storage costs and/or to improve access to and manipulability of the data.
(2) 
Quality standards for reformatting Village records:
(a) 
All significant detail on originals must be included on the new medium;
(b) 
Paper copies reproduced from microfilm or computerized media must be legible;
(c) 
Reformatted reproductions must have the same acceptability and legal status as the original record;
(d) 
The reformatted reproduction must meet archival standards, as specified in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or International Standards organization (ISO) standards for archival quality micrographics systems, for example.
(3) 
The Records Management Officer will oversee all reformatting of Village records.
(4) 
Master negatives of microfilmed records which are identified as archival will be stored in the vault. Original archival records should be retained in storage.
(5) 
Village records which are determined to be disposable may be stored on any medium that ensures the maintenance of the information until its designated disposal point.
C. 
Permanent preservation of Village records:
(1) 
Archival records must be maintained in the vault. The Records Management Officer shall designate which records are archival.
(2) 
Village archival records may be used by any individual subject to their agreement to abide by archival rules governing access and use.
[Adopted 10-27-2022]
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. 
This article provides 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.
E. 
Notwithstanding any term or provision of this article to the contrary, any records of the Village Police Department shall be excluded from the coverage of this article, and such records of the Village Police Department shall be maintained, preserved, and/or disposed of by the Village Police Department in accordance with applicable state and federal law and regulations.
A. 
The Board of Trustees is responsible for insuring compliance with the regulations herein, and designates the following person(s) as records access officer(s):
Clerk/Treasurer
Village of Dryden
16 South Street
Dryden, NY 13053
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.
(4) 
Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:
(a) 
Make records available for inspection; or
(b) 
Deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the reasons therefor.
(5) 
Upon request for copies of records:
(a) 
Make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any, in accordance with § 44-12; or
(b) 
Permit the requester to copy those records.
(6) 
Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy; and
(7) 
Upon failure to locate records, certify that:
(a) 
The Village of Dryden is not the custodian for such records; or
(b) 
The records of which Village of Dryden is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at:
Village of Dryden
16 South Street
Dryden, NY 13053
A. 
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records produced during all hours regularly open for business.
B. 
These hours are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
A. 
A written request is required.
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 § 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 shall be identified by name, title, business address and business phone number.
B. 
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 44-9 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:
(name) Rotha Marsh
(job title) Clerk Treasurer
16 South Street
Dryden, NY 13053
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:
(1) 
The date and location of requests for records;
(2) 
A description, to the extent possible, of the records that were denied; and
(3) 
The name and return address of the person denied access.
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
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.
A. 
There shall be no fee charged for:
(1) 
Inspection of records;
(2) 
Search for records; or
(3) 
Any certification pursuant to this part.
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; or
(2) 
The fee for photocopies of records in excess of nine inches by 14 inches shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction.
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. 
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 copies, shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records are kept and/or published in a local newspaper of general circulation.
B. 
The Village of Dryden shall post information related to this article on its website. Such information shall include, at a minimum, contact information for the persons from whom records of the agency may be obtained, the times and places such records are available for inspection and copying, and information on how to request records in person or by mail. This posting shall be linked to the website of the Committee on Open Government.
If any provision of this article 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 this article or the application thereof to other persons and circumstances.