[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Brookhaven 6-16-1987 by L.L. No. 7-1987. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The purpose of these rules and regulations is
to provide guidelines for the care, custody, retention, disposition
and accessibility of public records of the Town of Brookhaven.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any book, paper, map, photograph, microphotograph or other
information storage device, regardless of its physical form or characteristic,
which is the property of the Town on which any entry has been made
or is required to be made by law or which any officer or employee
of said Town has received or is required to receive for filing.
Any water district, sewage district, drainage district or
other special district established by law for any purpose operating
for and on behalf of the Town of Brookhaven and directly under its
jurisdiction.
The Town Clerk shall have custody of all the
records, books and papers of the Town. However, since official records
of the Town of Brookhaven are so vast and since the efficient operation
of the Town's daily business requires that official records be maintained
in close proximity to where such daily business takes place and since
§ 146 of the Education Law authorizes the filing and storage
of records in the buildings in which they are ordinarily used, the
various department heads who have care and custody of official records
shall:
It is the function of the Office of State History
of the Department of Education to examine the condition of all official
records of the counties, cities, towns and villages of the state and
to advise and recommend to officials in those public offices having
custody or control over the records as to making, managing, reproducing,
preserving or disposing of those records in their custody or control.
A.
The Town Clerk and all department heads having custody
of official records shall store such records in fire-resisting receptacles
made of noncombustible materials, and the Town Board shall decide
whether facilities for the storage of Town records are adequate.
B.
Records shall be systematically filed at all file
stations having custody of official records in such a manner as to
ensure speedy information retrieval. The Town Clerk will assist any
department head who requests such assistance in developing an effective
filing plan.
C.
At each instance of removal of an official record
from the files for a period of one day or longer, a charge-out card,
with the name of the person taking custody of the record and the date,
shall be placed in the file in the same space from which the record
was removed.
A.
The Freedom of Information Law,[1] a New York State statute enacted by Chapters 578, 579
and 580 of the Laws of 1974, endows the people with the authority
to inspect and receive copies of certain records possessed by local
governments. As a consequence, the Town Clerk and department heads
who have custody of official Town of Brookhaven records shall make
available for public inspection:
(1)
Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting
opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases, for
example:
(2)
Statements of policy and interpretations which have
been adopted by the Town and any statistical or factual tabulations
which led to the formulation of the policy.
(3)
Minutes of meetings of the Town Board and of any public
hearings.
(4)
Internal or external audits made by or for the Town.
(5)
Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff
that affect members of the public.
(6)
An itemized record setting forth the name, address,
title and salary of every officer or employee, compiled by the fiscal
officer charged with preparing payrolls. Such records shall be made
available for inspection to bona fide members of the news media upon
written notice, on Form AC375, a copy of which is attached,[2] in the office of the Town Comptroller during regular working
hours.
[2]
Editor's Note: A copy of this form is on file
in the office of the Town Clerk.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 84
et seq.
B.
All books of minutes, entry or account and the books,
bills, vouchers, checks, contracts or other papers connected with
or used or filed in the office of or with any officer, board or commission
acting for or on behalf of any town are declared to be public records
and shall be open, subject to reasonable regulations to be prescribed
by the officer having custody thereof, to the inspection of any taxpayer.
C.
All department heads who have custody of official
Town records shall prepare, maintain and make available for public
inspection current lists, reasonably detailed by subject matter, of
such records.
D.
The
law requires that each agency include in its regulations the persons
from whom such records may be obtained. To identify such persons,
department heads or their designees shall act as records access officers.
Such officers shall ensure:
[Amended 12-19-2019 by L.L. No. 27-2019, effective 12-31-2019]
(1)
Public accessibility to records under the law during normal working
hours.
(3)
Fees as established Town Board resolution shall be paid by the public
when the Town of Brookhaven makes copies of records upon request:
(a)
Copies of records up to 8 1/2 inches by 14 inches.
(b)
Searching fees. In the event that the request for public records
does not indicate such public records in the manner in which such
records are maintained in accordance with the law and searching of
subsidiary records is required in order to produce such public records.
A.
The Freedom of Information Law[1] provides for the exclusion of certain information from
records which are made available by the statute in an effort to prevent
any unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, such as:
(1)
Disclosure of personal matters reported to the Town
in confidence which are not relevant or essential to the ordinary
work of the Town.
(2)
Disclosure of an employment, vital statistics, medical
or credit history or personal references of an applicant for employment,
unless authorized by the applicant.
(3)
The sale or release of lists of names and addresses
where it would be used for private, commercial or fund-raising purposes.
(4)
Information confidentially disclosed and maintained
for the regulation of commercial enterprises, including licensing
purposes, if such disclosure would permit an unfair advantage to competitors.
(6)
Information which is part of investigatory files compiled
for law enforcement purposes.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 84
et seq.
B.
There is no right to remove any record from the office
of any Town department, nor may public inspection be exercised at
a time and in a manner so as to interfere with the work of any Town
office.
A.
There comes a time when certain public records no
longer have continuing administrative, legal, fiscal or historical
value. The storage of such records beyond their authorized retention
period in high-cost office space and filing equipment defeats one
of the major objectives of an effective records management program.
Section 63.10 of the Local Finance Law and Article XXIV of the State
Comptroller's Regulations cover the cancellation and destruction of
paid obligations. These include paid Town bonds, coupons and notes.
This matter is under the jurisdiction of the State Comptroller, who
issues periodic regulations concerning the disposition of such fiscal
records. Section 65-b of the Public Officers Law covers the disposition
of all other Town records. This section provides that any public officer
may destroy, sell or otherwise dispose of any or all records kept
by him, provided that he advises the Commissioner of Education of
the record, certifying that such record no longer has sufficient administrative,
fiscal or legal value to warrant its continued retention and that
the disposition has been authorized by resolution of the Town Board
and receives the consent of the Commissioner of Education for such
disposition. The Office of State History has established a legal minimum
retention period for Town records, and these have been described on
local records disposition request lists.
B.
When a department head determines to seek consent
to dispose of records in his custody, he shall so advise the Town
Clerk, describing the records and indicating their age. The Town Clerk
shall:
(1)
Review the department head's request for disposition
and, if valid, check such records, along with any request of the Town
Clerk for disposition of his own records, on two copies of the disposition
request lists, and sign the lists.
(2)
Obtain a resolution from the Town Board authorizing
him to dispose of the record items on the request list being used.
(3)
Forward one certified copy of the Town Board resolution,
together with two completed copies of the request list, to the Office
of State History.
(4)
Receive the consent of the Commissioner of Education
to the destruction, sale or other disposition of such records. Consent
is not granted by the Commissioner of Education on a continuing basis,
and each time it is desired to dispose of more recent records another
application for consent must be made.
(5)
Dispose of the records in his custody as officially
prescribed and/or advise department heads of such authorization for
their action.
