Town of Union Vale, NY Chapter 179 Records, Public Access to

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Union Vale 4-11-1977 (Ch. 69 of the 1983 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 179-1 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.

C. Personnel shall furnish to the public the information and records required by the Freedom of Information Law[1] and those which were furnished to the public prior to its enactment.

[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.

§ 179-2 Designation of records access officer; responsibilities.

A. The Town Board is responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates the following person as records access officer: the Town Clerk, Town of Union Vale.

B. The records access officer is responsible for ensuring appropriate Town 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.

C. Records access officers shall assure that 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 in accordance with § 179-6B:

(a) Make records promptly 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, in accordance with § 179-10; or

(b) Permit the requester to copy those records.

(5) Upon request certify:

(a) That a transcript is a true copy of records copied;

(b) That the Town of Union Vale is not the legal custodian for such records; or

(c) That the records of which the Town of Union Vale is a legal custodian, after diligent search, cannot be found.

§ 179-3 Designation of fiscal officer.

A. The Town Supervisor, Town Hall, Town of Union Vale, is designated the fiscal officer, who shall certify the payroll and respond to requests, in accordance with § 179-6B, 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, as required under § 87 of the Public Officers Law (the Freedom of Information Law).

§ 179-4 Location of records.

Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the Town Hall, Town of Union Vale, Duncan Road, Tymor Park, La Grangeville, New York 12540, or at the location where they are kept.

§ 179-5 Hours for public inspection.

[Amended 7-8-1999; 6-12-2003 by L.L. No. 4-2003]

Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records produced during all hours that the Town Clerk's office is regularly open for business.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: The Town Clerk's office is open for business Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

§ 179-6 Requests for records.

A. Where a request for records is required, such request may be oral or in writing. However, written requests shall not be required for records that have been customarily available without written request.

B. Response to requests.

(1) Except under extraordinary circumstances, officials shall respond to a request for records no more than five business days after receipt of the request, whether the request is oral or in writing.

(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 delay and estimate the date when a reply will be made.

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 and all records falling within a specific category shall conform to the standard that records be identifiable.

§ 179-7 Subject matter lists.

A. 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.

B. 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 semiannually.

§ 179-8 Removal of records.

No records may be removed by the requester from the office where the record is located, that is, the office of the Town Clerk, Town of Union Vale, without the permission of the Supervisor of the Town of Union Vale.

§ 179-9 Denial of access; appeals.

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 § 179-6B of these regulations, 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 Supervisor of the Town of Union Vale
	Town Hall, Town of Union Vale
	Duncan Road, Tymor Park, La Grangeville
	New York 12540

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

(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 § 179-6B.

(5) The name and return address of the requester.

E. The individual or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the requester of its decision, in writing, within seven business days of receipt of an appeal.

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.

§ 179-10 Fees.

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

(1) Inspection of records.

(2) Search for records.

(3) Any certification pursuant to this chapter.

B. Copies of records shall be provided as follows:[1]

(1) In the event that the Town of Union Vale has photocopying equipment, the fee for photocopies not exceeding 8 1/2 inches by 14 inches is $0.25 per page.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 179-11 Public notice.

A notice containing the job title or name and business address of the records access officer and fiscal officer, the name, job title, business address and telephone number of the appeals person or persons or body and the location where records can be seen or copied shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records are kept and/or published in a local newspaper of general circulation.