Village of Great Neck, NY Chapter 464 Records, Public Access to

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Great Neck 4-4-1978 by resolution (Ch. 32 of the 1976 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 464-1 Purpose and scope.

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 from the Village as required by Article 6 of the Public Officers Law.

C. Village personnel shall furnish to the public the information and records required by the Freedom of Information Law[1] as well as records otherwise available by law.

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

D. Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public records.

§ 464-2 Records access officer; duties.

A. The Village Clerk, whose office is at 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, New York 11023, is hereby designated as records access officer for the Village of Great Neck. In said capacity, the Village Clerk shall have the duty and responsibility of coordinating the Village's response to public requests for access to records. In the absence of the Village Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, whose office address is the same as that of the Village Clerk, shall perform the duties of records access officer. This designation shall not be construed to prohibit Village officials who have in the past been authorized to make records available to the public from continuing to do so.

B. The records access officer is responsible for assuring that Village personnel:

(1) Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.

(2) Assist the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary.

(3) Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions:

(a) Make records available for inspection.

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

(4) Upon request for copies of records:

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

(b) Permit the requester to copy those records.

(5) Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.

(6) Upon failure to locate records, certify that:

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

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

§ 464-3 Location of records.

All Village records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the Village Hall, 61 Baker Hill Road, Great Neck, New York 11023.

§ 464-4 Hours and days records available.

[Added 1-16-2007 by L.L. No. 4-2007]

Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and such records shall be produced between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, except when the Village Hall is closed for business.

§ 464-5 Requests for records.

A. All requests shall be made in writing upon forms supplied by the Village.

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 to describe the records sought.

D. If the Village does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, the agency 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.

§ 464-6 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.

§ 464-7 Appeals procedure in case of denial of access.

A. The Deputy Mayor 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.

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. If the Village fails to respond to a request within five business days of receipt of a request, such failure shall be deemed a denial of access by the agency.

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

E. The time for deciding an appeal shall commence upon receipt of the 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.

F. The Village shall transmit to the Committee on Public Access to Records copies of all appeals upon receipt of an appeal. Such copies shall be addressed to: Committee on Public Access to Records, Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231.

G. The Deputy Mayor shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Public Access to Records of its determination, in writing, within seven business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the Committee on Public Access to Records in the same manner as set forth in Subsection F of this section.

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

§ 464-8 Fees.

[Amended 7-7-1987 by L.L. No. 12-1987; 12-16-2003 by L.L. No. 17-2003]

Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law:

A. The fees charged for inspection of records, search for records and any certification pursuant to this chapter shall be in the amounts prescribed from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

B. The fee for copying records shall be in the amount prescribed from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.

§ 464-9 Information to be publicized.

The Village shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location and by publication in the official Village newspaper:

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.