[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:
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.
A collection of statements of objective information logically
arranged and reflecting objective reality, actual existence or an
actual occurrence.
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.
The City Clerk of the City of Ithaca located at Ithaca City
Hall.
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.
[Amended 11-3-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-09]
Any person denied access to a record may, within
30 days, appeal such denial, in writing, to the City Manager, 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 City Manager 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.
