[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Woodsburgh 3-20-1989
as L.L. No. 8-1989. Section 114-8 amended at time of adoption
of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art I. Other amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Village Clerk — See Ch.
8.
This chapter is intended to implement procedures in the Village of Woodsburgh
for enforcement of the New York State Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers
Law Article 6).
A. The Village Clerk, care of the Village Hall, is hereby
designated the records access officer of the village.
B. The records access officer is responsible for ensuring
appropriate agency response to public requests for access to records. The
designation of the 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, provided that no such person
shall be authorized to provide access to any record which is not required
to be made public.
C. The records access officer shall:
(1) Maintain a current subject matter list.
(2) Assist a requester in identifying requested records,
if necessary.
(3) 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 reason(s) therefor.
(4) Upon request for copies of records, take one of the following
actions:
(a) Make copies available upon request, upon payment of any
required fees; or
(b) Permit the requester to copy the records.
(5) Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy, upon
payment of any required fees.
(6) Upon failure to locate records, certify that:
(a) The village is not custodian for such records; or
(b) The records of which the village is custodian cannot
be found after a diligent search.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
village office.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records
produced in response thereto during all hours that the Village Clerk's
office is regularly open for business.
A. A written request may be required, but oral requests
may be accepted at the discretion of the records access officer when records
are readily available.
B. A request shall reasonably describe the record or records
sought. Whenever possible, a person requesting records should supply information
regarding dates, file designation or other information which may be of help
in describing or locating the records sought.
C. A response shall be given within five business days of
receipt of any request reasonably describing the record or records sought.
D. If the records access officer does not provide or deny
access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request,
the officer shall furnish a written acknowledgement of receipt of the request
and a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or
denied. If access to the records is neither granted nor denied within 10 business
days after the date of acknowledgement of receipt of a request, the requester
may construe such fact as a denial of access that may be appealed.
A. The records access officer shall maintain a reasonably
detailed current list by subject matter of all records in the possession of
such officer, whether or not such records are required to be made available
for public inspection or copying.
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 date of 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
body established to hear appeals.
B. If requested records are not provided promptly, as provided
in this chapter, such failure shall be deemed to be a denial of access.
C. The Mayor or his designee shall hear appeals for denial
of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law. Such appeals shall
be made in writing within 30 days after the denial of access.
D. The time for deciding an appeal shall commence upon receipt
of a written and timely appeal identifying:
(2) The date and location of the request for records.
(3) The records to which the requester was denied access.
(4) Whether the denial of access was in writing or due to
failure to provide records promptly as provided in this chapter.
(5) The name and address of the requester.
E. The person designated to hear appeals shall inform the
requester of the decision on the appeal within 10 business days of receipt
of an appeal.
F. The person designated to hear appeals shall promptly
forward to the New York State Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals
upon the receipt and ensuing determination thereof.
Fees for various services and copies shall be as set by resolution of
the Board of Trustees from time to time.
A notice containing the title or name and the business address of the
records access officer and the appeals body and the location where records
can be seen or copied shall be in a conspicuous location wherever records
are kept.