Village of East Hills, NY Article I Public Access to Records

[Adopted 9-12-1983 by L.L. No. 1-1983 as Ch. 50 of the 1983 Code]

§ 155-1 Designation of Records Access Officer.

The Village Clerk shall be the Village's Records Access Officer.

§ 155-2 Duties of Records Access Officer.

The Records Access Officer shall be responsible for assuring that Village personnel:

A. Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.

B. Assist the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary.

C. Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:

(1) Make records available for inspection.

(2) Deny access to the records in whole or in part and explain in writing the reasons therefor.

(3) Make copies available upon written request and upon payment of established fees for copying, search and retrieval, with the prior approval of the Village Attorney and in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.[1]

[Added 1-21-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997]

[1] Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 84 et seq.

D. Upon request for copies of records:

(1) Make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any; or

(2) Permit the requester to copy those records but not remove the same from the custody of the Records Access Officer.

E. Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.

F. Upon failure to locate records, certify that:

(1) The Village is not the custodian for such records; or

(2) The records of which the Village is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.

§ 155-3 Designation of location of records.

The Village shall designate the locations where records shall be available for public inspection and copying when different from the Village Hall or Clerk's office.

§ 155-4 Hours when records are available.

The Village shall accept requests for public access to records and produce records during all hours that it is regularly open for business.

§ 155-5 Request procedure.

A. Any request for public records shall be made in writing.

B. The Village shall respond to any request reasonably describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt of the request.

C. A request shall reasonably describe the record or records sought. Whenever possible, a person requesting records should supply information regarding dates, file designations or other information that may help locate the records sought.

[Amended 1-21-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997]

D. If the Village does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days after receipt of a request, the Village shall furnish a written acknowledgment of receipt of the request and a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied. If access to records is neither granted nor denied within 10 business days after the date of acknowledgment of receipt of a request, the request may be construed as a denial of access that may be appealed.

§ 155-6 Maintenance of subject matter list.

A. The Village 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 not less than twice per year. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the subject matter list.

§ 155-7 Procedure upon denial of access.

A. The Mayor of the Village of East Hills shall hear appeals or shall designate a person or body to hear appeals regarding denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 84 et seq.

B. Denial of access shall be in writing, stating the reason therefor and advising the person denied access of his or her right to appeal to the person or body established to hear appeals, and that person or body shall be identified by name, title, business address and business telephone number.

C. Any person denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of a denial.

D. The time for deciding an appeal by the individual or body designated to hear appeals shall commence upon receipt of written appeal identifying:

(1) The date and location of a request for records.

(2) The records that were denied.

(3) The name and return address of the appellant.

E. The Village shall transmit to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of an appeal. Such copies shall be addressed to:

[Amended 1-21-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997]

Committee on Open Government Department of State 162 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12231

F. The person or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the applicant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination, in writing, within seven 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 E of this section.

[Amended 1-21-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997]

G. A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided for in Subsection F of this section, shall be subject to court review, as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

§ 155-8 Fees.

Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law:

A. There shall be no fee charged for the following:

(1) Inspection of records.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Original § 50-8A(2), which immediately followed this subsection and stated that there shall be no fee for the searching of records, was repealed 1-21-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997.

(2) Any certification pursuant to this article.

B. The Village may charge a fee for copies of records, provided that:

(1) The fee for copying records shall not exceed $0.25 per page for photocopies not exceeding nine by 14 inches.

(2) The fee for maps, plans and the like shall be the actual cost of reproducing the same.

(3) If the Village does not have photocopying equipment, a transcript of the requested records shall be made upon request. Such transcripts may either be typed or handwritten. In such cases, the person requesting records may be charged for the clerical time involved in making the transcript.

(4) The fee for copies of records not covered by Subsection B(1), (2) and (3) of this section shall not exceed the actual reproduction cost, which is the average unit cost for copying a record, excluding fixed costs of the Village, such as operator salaries.

§ 155-9 Posting and publication.

The Village shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location and/or by publication in a local newspaper of general circulation:

A. The location where records shall be made available for inspection and copying.

B. The name, title, business address and business telephone number of the designated Records Access Officer.

C. The right to appeal by any person denied access to a record and the name and business address of the person or body to whom an appeal is to be directed.