[Adopted 6-20-2001 by L.L. No. 3-2001]
This article may be known and cited as the "Public
Access to Records Law for the Town of Henrietta."
Records shall be available for public inspection
and copying at the Town Clerk's office, 475 Calkins Road, Henrietta,
New York, 14467.
Records shall be available for inspection during
regular business hours as established by the Town Clerk.
[Amended 2-18-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015]
A. A written request is required.
B. A request shall reasonably describe the records sought.
Wherever reasonably possible, the request shall identify relevant
dates, file designations, or any other information that may assist
in responding to the request.
C. If records are maintained on the internet, the requester
shall be informed that the records are accessible via the internet
and in printed form either on paper or other information storage medium.
D. Time frame for response.
(1) A response
shall be given within five business days of receipt of a request by:
(a) Informing a person requesting records that the request or portion
of the request does not reasonably describe the records sought, including
direction, to the extent possible, that would enable that person to
request records reasonably described;
(b) Granting or denying access to records in whole or in part;
(c) Acknowledging the receipt of a request in writing, including an approximate
date when the request will be granted or denied in whole or in part,
which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request and
shall not be more than 20 business days after the date of the acknowledgment;
or if it is known that circumstances prevent disclosure within 20
business days from the date of such acknowledgment, providing a statement
in writing indicating the reason for inability to grant the request
within that time and a date certain, within a reasonable period under
the circumstances of the request, when the request will be granted
in whole or in part; or
(d) If the receipt of request was acknowledged in writing and included
an approximate date when the request would be granted in whole or
in part within 20 business days of such acknowledgment, but circumstances
prevent disclosure within that time, providing a statement in writing
within 20 business days of such acknowledgment specifying the reason
for the inability to do so and a date certain, within a reasonable
period under the circumstances of the request, when the request will
be granted in whole or in part.
(2) In
determining a reasonable time for granting or denying a request under
the circumstances of a request, personnel shall consider the volume
of a request, the ease or difficulty in locating, retrieving or generating
records, the complexity of the request, the need to review records
to determine the extent to which they must be disclosed, the number
of requests received by the Town, and similar factors that bear on
the ability to grant access to records promptly and within a reasonable
time.
[Amended 2-18-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015]
A. There shall be no fees charged for:
(3) Any certification pursuant to this article.
B. Fees for photocopies.
(1) The fee for copies not exceeding nine inches by 14
inches made on the Town Clerk's copy machine is $0.25 per page.
(2) The fee for copies of records other than photocopies
which are nine by 14 inches or less in size shall be the actual copying
cost excluding fixed agency costs, such as salaries.
C. The Town
has the authority to redact portions of a record prior to making a
copy of such record, in accordance with New York law.
D. The Town
may charge a fee for a copy of any other record, based upon the actual
cost of reproduction, and may include the following:
(1) An
amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid employee
who has the necessary skill to prepare a copy of the requested record,
but only when more than two hours of the employee’s time are
necessary; and
(2) The
actual cost of storage devices or media provided to the person making
the request; and
(3) The
actual cost to the Town of engaging an outside professional service
to respond to a request, but only when the Town’s equipment
is inadequate to respond, and only when such service is used to prepare
the copy.
E. When the Town has the ability to retrieve or extract a record or data maintained in a computer storage system with reasonable effort, or when doing so requires less employee time than engaging in manual retrieval or redactions from nonelectronic records, the Town shall be required to retrieve or extract such record or data electronically. In such case, the Town may charge a fee in accordance with Subsection
D(1) and
(2) above.
F. The Town
shall inform a person requesting a record of the estimated cost of
preparing a copy of the record if more than two hours of a Town employee’s
time are needed, or if it is necessary to retain an outside professional
service to prepare a copy of the record.
G. The Town
may require that the fee for copying or reproducing a record be paid
in advance of the preparation of such copy.
A notice containing the title or name and business
address of the records access officer and appeals person or body and
the location where records can be seen or copied shall be posted in
a conspicuous location wherever records are kept or published in a
local newspaper of general circulation.
[In accordance with Arts and Cultural Affairs Law Article
57-A, the Town has adopted Records Retention and Disposition Schedule
MU-1, which contains legal minimum retention periods for municipal
government records. A copy of said schedule is on file in the Town
offices. In accordance with Article 57-A, only those records will
be disposed of that are described in records retention and disposition
Schedule MU-1 after they have met the minimum retention period prescribed
therein. Only those records will be disposed of that do not have sufficient
administrative, fiscal, legal or historical value to merit retention
beyond established time periods.]