Source: https://ecode360.com/7091188
Timestamp: 2018-10-23 16:11:13
Document Index: 1952996

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 225', '§ 225', '§ 225', '§ 225', '§ 225', '§ 225', '§ 225', '§ 89', 'ART 1401', '§ 89', '§ 86', 'art.\n1401']

Town of Rotterdam, NY Records, Public Access to
§ 225-1 Adoption of rules and regulations.
§ 225-2 Designation of officers.
§ 225-3 Statutory exceptions; types of records available.
§ 225-4 Deletion of identifying details.
§ 225-5 Provisions to guide officers.
§ 225-6 Notice.
§ 225-7 Fees; hours.
Chapter 225: Records, Public Access to
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Rotterdam 3-1-1978. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Chapter 225 : Records, Public Access to
The Town Board of the Town of Rotterdam hereby adopts the following rules and regulations as the rules and regulations of the Town of Rotterdam with respect to the Freedom of Information Law, as amended by Chapter 933 of the Laws of 1977 of the State of New York, which rules and regulations have been promulgated by the Committee on Public Access to Records on January 10, 1978, pursuant to the new Freedom of Information Law [Public Officers Law, § 89, Subdivision 1(b)[iii] as follows:
CHAPTER XXV COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS PART 1401
PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS OF STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES, INCLUDING COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS, VILLAGES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND FIRE DISTRICTS
Statutory authority: Public Officers Law, § 89, Subdivision 1(b)iii
1401.1.
1401.2.
1401.3.
1401.4.
1401.6.
1401.7.
1401.8.
1401.9.
1401.10.
Section 1401.1. Purpose and scope.
This Part provides information concerning the procedures by which records may be obtained from an agency, as defined by Subdivision 3 of § 86 of the Public Officers Law. No agency regulations shall be more restrictive than this Part.
Agencies shall amend existing regulations or adopt new regulations to implement the Freedom of Information Law in conformity with this Part.
1401.2. Designation of records access officer.
1401.3. Location. Each agency shall designate the locations where records shall be available for public inspection and copying.
1401.4. Hours for public inspection.
1401.5. Requests for public access to records.
1401.6. Subject matter list.
1401.7. Denial of access to records.
If an agency fails to respond to a request within five business days of receipt of a request as required in Section 1401.5(d) of this Part, such failure shall be deemed a denial of access by the agency.
Committee on Public Access to Records Department of State 162 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12231
The person or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Public Access to Records of its determination in writing within seven business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the Committee on Public Access to Records in the same manner as set forth in Subdivision (f) of this section.
A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided for in Subdivision (g) of this section, shall be subject to court review, as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
1401.8. Fees. Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law:
The fee for copies of records not covered by Subdivision (c)(1) and (2) shall not exceed the actual reproduction cost, which is the average unit cost for copying a record, excluding fixed costs of the agency such as operator salaries.
1401.9. Public notice. Each agency shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location and/or by publication in a local newspaper of general circulation:
1401.10. Severability. If any provision of this Part or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of this Part or the application thereof to other persons and circumstances.
The Town Board of the Town of Rotterdam hereby designates and appoints the following persons[1] as the named officers for the respective positions herein as follows:
Fiscal officer: Comptroller.
Hearing officer: Assistant Town Attorney.
Appeals officer: Deputy Supervisor.
Editor's Note: The specific names of the designated officers shall be on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
The following records are excepted by statute:
Records which are specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal statute.
Records which, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
Records which, if disclosed, would impair contract awards or collective bargaining negotiations.
Records which are trade secrets or maintained for the regulations of a business which, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to competition.
Records compiled for law enforcement purposes and which, if disclosed, would:
Deprive a person of a right to fair trial;
Reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures (except routine techniques and procedures).
Records which, if disclosed, would endanger the life or safety of any person.
Inter- or intraagency materials which are not:
Final agency policy determinations.
Examination questions or answers, prior to the final administration of such questions.
It will be recalled that under the present or existing law, only the following records are available:
Statements of policy and interpretation adopted by an agency and any documents constituting statistical or factual tabulations leading to the formulation of the policy.
Internal or external audits and statistical or factual tabulations.
Final determinations and dissenting opinions.
Any other records required by any other provision of law to be made available.
The following identifying details shall be deleted as unwarranted invasion of personal privacy as follows: The law states that an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" includes:
Disclosure of information of a personal nature when disclosure would result in economic or personal hardship to the party and such information is not relevant to the work of an agency requesting or maintaining it.
The officers mentioned herein shall be guided in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities with respect to the Freedom of Information Law as follows:
The new law specifically exempts from its coverage the Legislature and the Judiciary, who are not covered by the old law.
The new law does require that the State Legislature make certain enumerated documents available.
A significant provision of the new law also is that it requires an agency which denies access to a particular record fully to explain, in writing, the reasons for denial. Additionally, in any judicial proceeding, the burden of proof is placed upon the agency to establish that the record sought to be obtained and denied is exempted from the statute.
The new law continues the Committee on Public Access to Records with all its functions. The Committee is empowered to promulgate guidelines concerning the deletion of identifying details for the withholding of records otherwise available in order to prevent unwarranted invasions of personal privacy. In the absence of such guidelines, any agency may delete identifying details when it makes records available.
The law specifically states that disclosure shall not be construed to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy when:
Identifying details are deleted;
The person to whom a record pertains consents in writing to disclosure; or
The Town Clerk of the Town of Rotterdam is hereby directed to cause the following public notice to be published in the official newspapers of the Town of Rotterdam and to post said public notice in a conspicuous location on the official bulletin board of the Town of Rotterdam as designated by statute as follows.[1]
Editor's Note: The exact wording of said public notice is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
[Added 3-12-1986 by L.L. No. 4-1986; amended 1-25-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989]
Records are available at the office of the Town Clerk during regular business hours upon payment of a fee as set forth in Ch. 126, Fees.