[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca 12-1-1976
by Ord. No. 76-12 (Ch. 2, Art. I, of the 1975 Municipal Code);
amended in its entirety 12-6-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-14.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of these regulations is to provide for the regulation of
the examination of public records in compliance with and subject to the provisions
of the Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law Article 6) and to ensure
the efficient operation of governmental offices.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
- AGENCY
- Any municipal board, bureau, commission, council, department, public authority, public corporation, division, office or other governmental entity performing a governmental or propriety function for the City of Ithaca.
- FACTUAL TABULATION
- A collection of statements of objective information logically arranged and reflecting objective reality, actual existence or an actual occurrence.
- RECORD OR RECORDS
- Any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for the City of Ithaca in any physical form whatsoever, including but not limited to reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes, tape recordings of official meetings and documents.
- RECORDS ACCESS OFFICER
- The City Clerk of the City of Ithaca located at Ithaca City Hall.
- STATISTICAL TABULATION
- A collection or orderly presentation of numerical data logically arranged in columns and rows or graphically.
A.
Requests to inspect or to obtain a copy of records in
the custody of any officer or employee of the City shall be submitted in writing,
in person during the City Clerk's regular business hours (i.e., 8:30
a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), or by mail, or via electronic mail (e-mail) to the records
access officer. Any e-mail request for records submitted after the City Clerk's
regular business hours shall be considered to have been filed on the next
business day. The records access officer shall make available to the public
both paper and electronic forms which can be used to submit a request for
records. The electronic forms shall be available on the Internet at the City's
Web site. The use of such form(s), however, is merely for purposes of convenience
and is not mandatory in order to obtain access to records. Records shall be
available for inspection at the office of the City Clerk or other location
designated by the City Clerk on all regular business days from 8:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m.
B.
If the records sought to be inspected or reproduced are
being inspected by another person, in the process of preparation, being used
in official business or if the requested inspection would unreasonably interfere
with or disrupt office duties or business operations, the records access officer
shall so inform the person and shall specify a reasonable time when such records
may be inspected or reproduced.
C.
Inspection and copying of records shall be conducted
within City offices under the supervision of the records access officer or
his/her designee. The person seeking to inspect records may make either handwritten
copies of records or use his/her own reproduction equipment, but in no case
shall such records be removed from the premises. The records access officer
shall furnish copies of any of the foregoing records at a charge of $0.25
per page not exceeding nine inches by 14 inches in size; provided, however,
that the records access officer may, in his/her discretion, for good cause,
waive all or any portion of such charges for a particular record or class
of records.
D.
Payroll information, as provided in § 88 of
the Public Officers Law, shall be made available for inspection and copying
in accordance with the provisions of such statute and the regulations of the
State Comptroller. A charge of $0.25 per page not exceeding nine inches by
14 inches in size shall be made for each copy furnished by the agency; provided,
however, that the records access officer may, in his/her discretion, for good
cause, waive all or any portion of such charges for a particular record or
class of records.
E.
Papers larger than nine inches by 14 inches in size and
materials classified as records in this section that require special duplicating
methods may be copied by the records access officer or his/her designee on
equipment available in City Hall at a charge in conformity with the cost of
duplicating the materials, such charge to be determined at the time of request
for duplication. No records may be removed by the person requesting the same
from the custody of the records access officer for the purpose of duplication.
A.
In accordance with the provisions of Subdivision 2 of
§ 89 of the Public Officers Law and in conformity with such guidelines
as may be promulgated by the Committee on Open Government regarding the prevention
of unwarranted invasions of personal privacy, the records access officer,
in his/her discretion, may delete from any record identifying details, the
disclosure of which would result in unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,
prior to making such record available for inspection or copying. In the event
that one or more deletions are so made from any document, the records access
officer shall provide written notice of that fact to the person requesting
the same. If the record is such that the personal matters cannot be fully
deleted without substantively affecting the record or the identifying details
cannot be effectively deleted, the records access officer shall deny access
to such record as provided herein.
B.
An unwarranted invasion of personal privacy includes,
but shall not be limited to:
(1)
Disclosure of such personal matters as may have been
reported in confidence to an agency or municipality and which are not relevant
or essential to the ordinary work of the agency or municipality.
(2)
Disclosure of employment, medical or credit histories
or personal references of applicants for employment, except that such records
may be disclosed when the applicant has provided a written release permitting
such disclosure.
(3)
Disclosure of items involving the medical or personal
records of a client or patient in a hospital or medical facility.
(4)
The sale or release of lists of names and addresses in
the possession of any agency or municipality if such lists would be used for
private, commercial or fundraising purposes.
(5)
Disclosure of items of a personal nature when disclosure
would result in economic or personal hardship to the subject party and such
records are not relevant or essential to the ordinary work of the agency or
municipality requesting or maintaining them.
(6)
Information of a personal nature contained in a workers'
compensation record, except as provided by § 110-a of the Workers'
Compensation Law.
C.
Unless otherwise prohibited by law, disclosure of records
shall not be construed to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
when identifying details are deleted; or when the person to whom a record
pertains consents in writing to disclosure; or when upon presenting reasonable
proof of identity, a person seeks access to records pertaining to himself
or herself.
The records access officer or his or her designee shall, within five
business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably
described, make such record available to the person requesting it, deny such
request in writing or furnish a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such
request and a statement of the approximate date, which shall be reasonable
under the circumstances, when such request will be granted or denied. If an
agency determines to grant a request in whole or in part, and if circumstances
prevent disclosure to the person requesting a record or records within 20
business days from the date of the acknowledgment of receipt of the request,
the City shall state, in writing, both the reason for the inability to grant
the request within 20 business days and a date certain within a reasonable
period, depending on the circumstances, when the request will be granted in
whole or in part. Upon receipt of payment of or offer to pay the fee prescribed
therefor, the records access officer shall provide a copy of such record and
certify to the correctness of such copy, if so requested, or, as the case
may be, shall certify that he/she does not have possession of such record
or that such record cannot be found after diligent search. Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to require any entity to prepare any record not
possessed or maintained by the City except those records required to be maintained
by law.
Any person denied access to a record may, within 30 days, appeal such
denial, in writing, to the Mayor, who shall, within 10 business days of the
receipt of such appeal, fully explain, in writing, to the person requesting
the record the reasons for further denial or provide access to the record
sought. In addition, the records access officer shall forward to the New York
State Committee on Open Government a copy of such appeal and the determination
thereon. If the Mayor affirms or modifies the denial, he/she shall communicate
his/her reasons, in writing, to the person making the appeal and inform such
person of his/her right to appeal such affirmation or modification pursuant
to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
A.
The records access officer shall maintain and make available
for inspection and copying at his/her office a current list, reasonably detailed
by subject matter, of the types of records produced, filed or first kept in
the office on and after the first day of January 1977. Such list shall be
in conformity with such regulations as may be promulgated by the New York
State Committee on Open Government.
B.
The City shall maintain a record of the final vote of
each member in every City agency proceeding in which the member votes.
C.
The City shall maintain a record setting forth the name,
public office address, title and salary of every officer or employee of the
agency.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 256-1, the City may deny public access to records or portions thereof that:
A.
Are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or
federal statute; or
B.
Are trade secrets or are submitted to the City by a commercial
enterprise or derived from information obtained from a commercial enterprise
and which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive
position of the subject enterprise; or
C.
If disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to the standards set forth in § 256-4B of this chapter; or
D.
Are compiled for law enforcement purposes and if disclosed
would either jeopardize a pending criminal investigation, identify a confidential
source, or reveal investigative techniques or procedures which are not routine
techniques or procedures; or
E.
If disclosed could endanger the life or safety of any
person; or
F.
If disclosed would impair present or imminent contract
awards or collective bargaining negotiations; or
G.
Are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are
not statistical or factual tabulations of data; instructions to staff; final
agency policy or determinations; or external audits, including but not limited
to audits performed by the State Comptroller and the federal government; or
H.
Are examination questions or answers which are requested
prior to the final administration of such questions; or
I.
If disclosed, could jeopardize the City's capacity
to guarantee the security of its information technology assets, such assets
encompassing both electronic information systems and infrastructures; or
J.
Are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other
recorded images prepared under authority of § 1111-a of the Vehicle
and Traffic Law.
Nothing in this chapter shall require the disclosure of the home address
of an officer or employee, former officer or employee, or of a retiree of
the public employees; retirement system; nor shall anything in this chapter
require the disclosure of the name or home address of a beneficiary of a public
employees' retirement system or of an applicant for appointment to public
employment; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall limit or
abridge the right of an employee organization, certified or recognized for
any collective negotiating unit or an employer pursuant to Article 14 of the
Civil Service Law, to obtain the name or home address of any officer, employee
or retiree of such employer, if such name or home address is otherwise available
under this chapter.
