[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Southeast 3-14-1978. Amendments noted where applicable.]
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 or confidentiality.
B.
This chapter provides information concerning the procedures
by which records may be obtained.
D.
Any conflicts among laws governing public access to
records shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability
of public records.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Southeast is responsible
for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates
the Town Clerk as records access officer.
[Amended 6-16-1988 by L.L. No. 5-1988]
B.
The records access officer is responsible for ensuring
appropriate agency response to public requests for access to records.
However, the public shall not be denied access to records through
officials who have in the past been authorized to make records or
information available.
A.
The Town Supervisor of the Town of Southeast is designated the fiscal officer, who shall certify the payroll and respond to requests, in accordance with § 107-6B, for an itemized record setting forth the name, address, title and salary of every officer or employee of the agency.
B.
The fiscal officer shall make the payroll items listed
above available to any person, including bona fide members of the
news media.
[Amended 6-16-1988 by L.L. No. 5-1988]
Records shall be available for public inspection
and copying at the Town Hall, One Main Street, Brewster, New York,
10509, or at the location where they are kept.
Requests for public access to records shall
be accepted and records produced during all hours regularly open for
business. These hours are 9:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
A.
Where a request for records is required, such request
shall be in writing upon a form approved by the Town Board.
B.
Response.
(1)
Except under extraordinary circumstances, officials
shall respond to a request for records no more than five business
days after receipt of the request.
(2)
If, because of extraordinary circumstances, more than
five business days are required to respond to a request, receipt of
the request shall be acknowledged within five business days after
the request is received. The acknowledgment shall state the reason
for the delay and estimate the date when a reply will be made. 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.
C.
A request for access to records should be sufficiently
detailed to identify the records. Where possible, the requester should
supply information regarding dates, titles, file designations or other
information which may help identify the records. However, a request
for any or all records falling within a specific category conforms
to the standard that records be identifiable.
D.
Subject matter list.
(1)
A current list, by subject matter, of all records
produced, filed or first kept or promulgated after September 1, 1974,
shall be available for public inspection and copying. The list shall
be sufficiently detailed to permit the requester to identify the file
category of the records sought.
(2)
The subject matter list shall be updated periodically,
and the date of the most recent updating shall appear on the first
page. The updating of the subject matter list shall not be less than
semiannual.
E.
No records may be removed by the requester from the
office where the record is located without the permission of the Town
Supervisor of the Town of Southeast.
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 hear appeals.
B.
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 107-6B of this chapter, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C.
The following person or persons or body shall hear
appeals for denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information
Law: the Town Board of the Town of Southeast.
[Amended 6-16-1988 by L.L. No. 5-1988]
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 of the appeal.
(2)
The date and location of the requests for records.
(3)
The records to which the requester was denied access.
(4)
Whether the denial of access was in writing or was by failure to provide records promptly as required by § 107-6B.
(5)
The name and return address of the requester.
E.
The person or body designated to hear appeals 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 G of this section.
F.
A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided for in Subsection E of this section, shall be subject to court review as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, provided that said action is commenced within 30 days of the decision on appeal.
G.
The agency 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 the Committee on Public Access to
Records, Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York
12231.
