[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Chautauqua: Art.
I, 6-12-1978; Art. II, 4-10-1995. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 6-12-1978]
A.
These regulations are established pursuant to Article
6 of the Public Officers Law, known as the "Freedom of Information Law."
B.
These regulations provide the procedures by which records
of the Town of Chautauqua may be obtained for inspection and copies thereof
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 and the Supervisor shall be responsible
for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and as promulgated by
the Committee on Public Access to Records on January 10, 1978, and as may
be amended, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law,[1] and shall designate one or more persons as records access officers,
by name or by specific job title and business address, who shall have the
duty of coordinating agency response to public requests for access to records.
The designation of one or more records access officers 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article 6 of the Public Officers Law.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
town office in the Community Building, South Erie Street, Mayville, New York,
or at the location where they are kept.
A.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted,
and the records produced, during all hours regularly open for business, except
that all records must be returned to their proper custodian at least five
minutes before closing time.
B.
Hours regularly open for business are 9:00 a.m. to 12:00
noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A.
Where a request for records is required, such request
may be oral or in writing as specified by the records access officer. However,
written requests shall not be required for records that have been customarily
available without written request.
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, 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 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. 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 shall reasonably describe
the record or records sought. Where possible, the requester should supply
information regarding dates, titles, file designations or other information
which may help identify the records.
A.
The Town of Chautauqua 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.
D.
Appropriate personnel of the Town of Chautauqua shall
assist the requester in identifying requested records.
A.
A person who has requested access to the public records of the Town of Chautauqua shall be given full opportunity to see and inspect such records, unless access is denied as provided in § 104-8 herein.
B.
The requester may also make a copy of the records he
inspects, but no record may be removed from the office where it is located.
C.
Upon request and payment of the established fee, the
appropriate officer or employee shall prepare and deliver a photocopy of such
records. If the copy is to be mailed, the requester shall furnish a self-addressed
envelope with sufficient postage thereon.
D.
Upon request, an appropriate official of the Town of
Chautauqua shall certify as correct a photocopy prepared by the custodian
of the records.
B.
Denial of access shall be in writing, stating the reason
therefor and advising the person denied access of his or her rights to appeal
to the Town Board, and that body shall be identified by name, title, business
address and business telephone number.
C.
If the Town of Chautauqua fails to respond to a request within five business days of a receipt of a request as required in § 104-5 of these regulations, such failure shall be deemed a denial of access by the Town of Chautauqua.
D.
Any person denied access to records may appeal within
30 days of a denial.
F.
The Town of Chautauqua 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 Town Board 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.
Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law:
The Town of Chautauqua shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location:
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 body to whom an appeal is
to be directed.
[Adopted 4-10-1995]
The Town Clerk is designated as records management officer and shall
be responsible for the records management program established by this Article
and subsequent amendments thereto. Said officer will be responsible for administering
the noncurrent and archival public records for the Town of Chautauqua in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines. Said officer shall also
be responsible for overseeing the microfilming of town records according to
recognized standards and specification. These functions shall be performed
within the budget as allocated by the Town Board.
A.
The Town Clerk or designee of the Town Clerk shall have
all the necessary powers to carry out the efficient administration, determination
of value, use, preservation, storage and disposition of the noncurrent and
archival public records kept, filed or received by the offices and departments
of the Town of Chautauqua.
B.
The Town Clerk or designee of the Town Clerk shall recommend
to the Town Board guidelines for proper records management in any other department
or agency of town government in accordance with local, state and federal laws
and guidelines.
C.
The Town Clerk or designee of the Town Clerk shall report
annually to the Town Board on the powers and duties herein mentioned including,
but not limited to, the cost/benefit ratio of programs implemented by the
Town Clerk or designee.
The Town Clerk shall have at his/her disposal a storage area, room or
rooms dedicated specifically for the storage, processing and services of all
noncurrent and archival records for all town departments and agencies. The
storage area, room or rooms shall be called the "Chautauqua Records Center."
The Town Clerk or his/her designee shall operate the Chautauqua Records Center.
The Town Clerk or designee of the Town Clerk shall be the sole official
designated in the Public Officer's Certification for Using Records Retention
and Disposition Schedules or its successor and shall be the sole officer with
authority over the disposition of noncurrent and archival town records and
more current records, after receiving approval of the respective town officer
or department head who has custody of the records of his/her respective office
or department.
A.
The Chautauqua Town Board is authorized to appoint up
to a six-member Records Advisory Board after seeking recommendations from
the Town Clerk. It is recommended that if a six-person Records Advisory Board
is appointed, it shall be composed of the Town Historian; a representative
from the Historical Society; a member of the Town Board; the records management
officer for the town; a representative from the Mayville Library; and a representative
from the Chautauqua Smith Library.
B.
The function of this Board shall be to advise and make
suggestions to the Town Clerk or his/her designee on improvements to be made
to the Chautauqua records management program. The Board shall meet at least
twice a year and more so, if needed.
C.
The Town Clerk or his/her designee shall be responsible
for calling all meetings of the Records Advisory Board, making progress reports
concerning the records management program to the Records Advisory Board and
following up on advice and/or suggestions offered by the Records Advisory
Board.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
- ARCHIVES
- Those official records which have been determined by the records management officer to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the town.
- RECORDS
- Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings, microforms or any other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official town business.
- RECORDS CENTER
- An established room, rooms and/or area maintained by the Town of Chautauqua primarily for the storage, servicing, security and processing of records which must be preserved for varying periods of time and need not be retained in office equipment or space.
- RECORDS MANAGEMENT
- The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion and other managerial activities involved in records creation, records maintenance and use and records disposition, including records preservation, records disposal and records centers or other storage facilities.
- SERVICING
- Making information in records available to any county agency for official use or to the public.
