[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fultonville:
Art. I, at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I);
Art. II, at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art.
I). Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
The purpose of this article is to set forth the methods and procedures
governing the availability, location and nature of those records of the Village
of Fultonville subject to the provisions of Article 6 of the Public Officers
Law, known as the "Freedom of Information Law."
A.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring compliance
with the regulations herein and designates the following person as Records
Access Officer: the Village Clerk/Treasurer, Erie Street, Fultonville, New
York.
B.
The Records Access Officer is responsible for ensuring
appropriate agency response to public request for access to records pursuant
to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law. The designation of the
Records Access Officer 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.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
village offices, Erie Street, Fultonville, New York.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records
shall be produced during the hours that the Village Clerk/Treasurer's
office is regularly opened for business.
A.
A written request may be required, but oral requests
may be accepted when records are readily available.
B.
A response shall be given within five business days of
the receipt of any request reasonably describing the record or records sought.
C.
A request shall reasonably describe the record or records
sought. Whenever possible, a person requesting records should supply information
regarding dates, file designations or other information that may help to describe
the records sought.
D.
If the Records Access Officer does not provide or deny
access to the records sought within five business days of receipt of a request,
he or she shall furnish a written acknowledgment of the receipt of the request
and a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or
denied.
E.
If the request is granted, the Records Access Officer
shall provide a copy of such record to the person requesting the same upon
payment of the fee prescribed therefor and shall certify to the correctness
of such copy if requested to do so. Alternatively, the Records Access Officer
shall certify that he or she does not have possession of such record or that
such record cannot be located after a diligent search.
The fee for copies of records shall be $0.25 per page not exceeding
nine inches by 14 inches in size or the maximum fee permitted under the Freedom
of Information Law as it may from time be amended. The fees for other types
of copies or transcripts and for certificates shall be the reasonable amounts
as the Records Access Officer shall establish. The fees charged by the Records
Access Officer for records shall not exceed the actual cost of reproducing
such record, except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law.
The Records Access Officer shall, in accordance with this article, make
available for public inspection and copying all records, except that the Records
Access Officer may deny access to records or portions thereof which are not
subject to disclosure in accordance with the provisions of Subdivision 2 of
§ 87 of the Public Officers Law or any other applicable state or
federal statute or unless the public access officer determines that to grant
the application would adversely affect the public interest.
A.
Denial of access to records shall be in writing.
B.
Within 30 days after the written denial of access, any
person denied access to a record may appeal, in writing, such denial to the
Mayor, who shall hear such appeals under the Freedom of Information Law.
C.
Within 10 business days of the receipt of such appeal,
the Mayor shall explain, in writing, to the person requesting the record the
reasons for further denial or provide access to the record sought.
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the Officer
and Advisory Committee to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant
their continued preservation by the local government.
Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound records, microforms
or any other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made
or received pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of official
Village of Fultonville business.
An establishment maintained by the Village of Fultonville 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.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion
and other managerial use and records disposition, including records preservation,
records disposal and records centers or other storage facilities.
Making information in records available to any Village of Fultonville
agency for official use or to the public.
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis
of the Village Board of Trustees and headed by a Records Management Officer
(RMO). The officer will be responsible for administering the noncurrent and
archival public records and storage areas for the Village of Fultonville in
accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
The Records Management Officer shall have all the necessary powers to
carry out the efficient administration and 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 Village of Fultonville.
The Records Management Officer shall:
A.
Continually survey and examine public records to recommend
their classification so as to determine the most suitable methods to be used
for the maintaining, storing and servicing of archival material:
(1)
Obsolete and unnecessary records, according to New York
State records retention and disposition schedules, thereby subject to disposition;
(2)
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal,
research, historical or educational value which warrant their permanent retention;
or
(3)
Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B.
Establish guidelines for proper records management in
any department or agency of the Village of Fultonville in accordance with
local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
Report annually to the chief executive official and the
governing body on the powers and duties herein mentioned, including but not
limited to the cost/benefit ratio of programs effectuated by the department.
D.
Operate a records management center for the storage,
processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival records for all Village
of Fultonville departments and agencies.
E.
Establish a Village of Fultonville archives and perform
the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist Village of Fultonville departments
in reviewing and selecting material to be transferred to the Village of Fultonville
archives for preservation.
(2)
Continually survey and examine public records to determine
the most suitable methods to be used for the creating, maintaining, storing
and servicing of archival materials.
(3)
Establish and maintain an adequate repository for the
proper storage, conservation, processing and servicing of archival records.
(4)
Promulgate rules governing public access to and use of
records in the archives, subject to the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
(5)
Develop a confidentiality policy for archival records
designated confidential, provided that such policy does not conflict with
any federal or state statutes.
(6)
Provide information services to other Village of Fultonville
offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official Village
of Fultonville records but which have associational value to the Village of
Fultonville or a close relationship to the existing archival collection. Such
collecting shall be subject to archive space, staff and cost limitations and
to the potential endangerment of such materials if they are not collected
by the archives.
(8)
Develop a procedure whereby historically important records
are to be identified at the point of generation.
There shall be a Records Advisory Board designated to work closely with
and provide advice to the Records Management Officer. The Board shall consist
of the Village Board of Trustees. The Board shall meet periodically and have
the following duties:
A.
Provide advice to the Records Management Officer on the
development of the records management program.
B.
Review the performance of the program on an ongoing basis
and propose changes and improvements.
C.
Review retention periods proposed by the Records Management
Officer for records not covered by state archives' schedules.
D.
Provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival
value and be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not archival.
A.
The Village Board of Trustees is the legal custodian
of its records and shall retain custody of records deposited in the records
center. Records transferred to or acquired by the archives shall be under
the custody and control of the archives, rather than the department which
created or held them immediately prior to being transferred to the archives.
B.
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon the
recommendation of the RMO, with the approval of the head of the department
which has custody of the records and the approval of the Records Advisory
Board.
C.
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the RMO or the head of the department which had custody
of the records immediately prior to the transfer of those records to the archives,
subject to the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
The legal department may take steps to recover local government records
which have been alienated from proper custody and may, when necessary, institute
actions of replevin.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department
of the Village of Fultonville unless approval has been obtained from the Records
Management Officer. No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of
by the Records Management Officer without the express written consent of the
department head having authority.
