[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village
of Bellerose 10-23-1978 by resolution. Amendments noted
where applicable]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. A217.
The following rules and regulations govern public access to the records
of the Incorporated Village of Bellerose.
No member of the public may have direct access to the records of the
Incorporated Village of Bellerose in that no person not having public position
or specific authority may personally search the files of the Incorporated
Village of Bellerose. Such searches may be made by the Village Clerk or his
authorized deputy, upon application properly made.
Attached to this resolution, as Exhibit A, is the form which shall be used by any member of the public who desires that the Village Clerk search the files of the Incorporated Village of Bellerose.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A is included at the end of this chapter.
When a member of the public requests the right to view or copy a public
record under the Freedom of Information Law, he shall be asked to submit an
application, in duplicate, for each record so requested. The application shall
be made on the form attached to this resolution.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Said form is included at the end of this chapter as Exhibit A.
A separate application must be made for each record requested. The Village
Clerk is not permitted to engage in a "fishing expedition" or to permit any
other person to engage in a "fishing expedition," insofar as village records
are concerned. In that regard, each such application made shall set forth,
in as clear language as is possible, the document or record which is sought
to be examined.
The party making the application shall be informed that he will be notified
in writing as to approval or denial of the application within 10 business
days from the date of his application and shall be requested to call at the
office of the Village Clerk, after the expiration of those 10 days, to receive
a copy of the approval or denial of the application.
No inspection of the records or access to those records shall be permitted
until the application shall have been made and processed.
Upon receipt of such application, both copies thereof shall be forwarded
to the Village Attorney, or a deputy designated by him, for review, and the
Village Clerk shall receive the advice of the Village Attorney or his deputy
on the disposition of the application. The Village Clerk shall not be bound
by that advice, but shall give it such weight as is proper.
The Village Clerk shall continue to collect the charges imposed by resolution
for the copying of documents in the files of the village and for making various
certificates requested by the public.
The Village Clerk is not required to engage in extended conversation
with members of the public on matters as to which the conversant is not an
immediate party. The Village Clerk is under no responsibility to advise members
of the public on matters of law or to orally transmit items of information
from the records of the village. The Board of Trustees, by its own observation
and investigation, is of the opinion that the effective use of his time by
the Village Clerk is hampered by those who expect him to be the source of
all knowledge as to village affairs and the laws governing those affairs.
Members of the public shall, upon the completion of their official business
with the Village Clerk, leave the office of the Village Clerk as soon as is
possible.
The Village Clerk is not to be occupied by members of the public on
matters which are not directly related to the business at hand for the Village
Clerk at that moment.
