[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Niagara as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-11-1978]
All records which shall be reasonably described shall be available for
inspection at the Town Hall, 7105 Lockport Road, Town of Niagara, New York,
during regular working hours and regular working days. Requests for records
shall be upon required forms, a copy of which is attached hereto.[2]
The Town Clerk is designated as the Records Distribution Officer and
the person from whom records may be obtained. In the absence of the Records
Distribution Officer, the Town Clerk shall appoint person(s) to act in his
or her place and stead.
A.
The town shall either make requested records available or deny access within five business days of receipt of a written request or furnish an acknowledgment of the request within that time and give the approximate date the request will be answered. Appeals from the denial of a request may be made within 30 days of the denial to the Town Board or to a person designated by the Board to determine such appeals. Decisions on such appeals shall be made within seven business days and must either grant the request or fully explain in writing the reasons for denial. Copies of all such appeals and appeal decisions shall be immediately forwarded to the Committee on Open Government. A further appeal from denial of access may be taken to the Supreme Court pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules. If access to any record is denied, the town shall have the burden of proving that such record falls within § 72-7, infra.
[Amended 5-19-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998]
B.
For purposes of administrative functioning and adherence
to reasonable office control, inspection of records shall be limited to two
persons at any one time.
C.
All records are to remain in the district office with
inspection supervised by the Records Distribution Officer.
D.
No record shall be altered, defaced, destroyed or removed
from its portfolio. Violators are subject to prosecution and shall be barred
from further inspection privileges.
A.
RECORD
All reasonably described records shall be made available
to the public with specified exceptions. A record is defined as follows:
Any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with
or for an agency or the state legislature 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 disks, rules,
regulations or codes.
B.
All existing documents which come within the above definition,
and which are not within one of the exceptions hereinafter described, shall
be made available for public inspection, upon request, and copies or certified
copies must be provided upon payment of the established fee.
A.
The following records shall be kept:
(1)
A record of the final vote of each member in every agency
or proceeding in which the member votes.
(2)
A record setting forth the name, public office, address,
title and salary of every officer or employee of the agency.
(3)
A reasonably detailed current list by subject matter
of all records in the possession of the town and, regardless of date of initial
possession, whether or not available or accessible under this article.
B.
These regulations do not impose any recordkeeping requirements
and do not require that records be created or compiled in order to comply
with a request.
C.
The official copy of records of the Town of Niagara may
be kept by the Town Clerk in electronic form and shall be the official copy
of records stored on said imaging system as the official copy of the series,
subject to the requirements of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law of the State
of New York.
[Added 12-18-2001 by L.L. No. 3-2001]
A.
No records, or portions thereof, are to be made available
which:
(1)
Are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or
federal statute.
(2)
If disclosed would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy under the provisions of Subdivision 2 of § 89
of the Public Officers Law.
(3)
If disclosed would impair present or imminent contract
awards or collective bargaining negotiations.
(4)
Are trade secrets or are maintained for the regulation
of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury
to the competitive position of the subject enterprise.
(5)
Are compiled for law enforcement purposes and which,
if disclosed, would:
(a)
Interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial
proceedings;
(b)
Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial
adjudication;
(c)
Identify a confidential source or disclose confidential
information relating to a criminal investigation; or
(d)
Reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures,
except routine techniques and procedures.
(6)
If disclosed would endanger the life or safety of any
person.
(8)
Are examination questions or answers which are requested
prior to the final administration of such questions.
B.
An "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" is further
defined to include, but not be limited to:
(1)
Disclosure of employment, medical or credit histories
or personal references of applicants for employment;
(2)
Disclosure of items involving the medical or personal
records of a client or patient in a medical facility;
(3)
Sale or release of lists of names and addresses if such
lists would be used for commercial or fund-raising purposes;
(4)
Disclosure of information of a personal nature when disclosure
would result in economic or personal hardship to the subject party and such
information is not relevant to the work of the agency requesting or maintaining
it; or
(5)
Disclosure of information of a personal nature reported
in confidence to an agency and not relevant to the ordinary work of such agency.
C.
An unwarranted invasion of personal privacy shall not
justify the denial of access to records when:
The Committee on Open Government in the Department of State has the
following address: Executive Director, Committee on Open Government, Department
of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231.
[Adopted 8-12-1980]
[Amended 5-19-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998]
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 issued pursuant to Article
57-A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law and containing minimum legal retention
periods for town records is hereby adopted for use by the Town
Clerk of this town.
[Amended 5-19-1998 by L.L. No. 3-1998]
The Town Board hereby authorizes the disposition of records in accordance
with the minimum legal retention periods set forth in Records Retention and
Disposition Schedule MU-1.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1
is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
The Town Clerk be and hereby is directed to furnish a certified copy
of this article to the Commissioner of Education.
