[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Highlands 11-12-1974.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following rules and regulations shall apply to the public inspection
and copying of such town records as are subject to public inspection by law
and shall continue in effect until altered, changed, amended or superseded
by further resolution of this Town Board, or by action of the Committee on
Open Government established by law.
Such records shall be made available for inspection at the office of
the town officer or employee charged with the custody and keeping thereof.
Such records shall be made available for public inspection on regular
business days between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
and 5:00 p.m., if readily available. If not readily available, written request
specifically describing records to which access is desired shall be filed
with the town officer or employee cleared with the custody and keeping thereof,
who shall produce same within 48 hours of such request. Such written request
shall be on the form prescribed by the State Comptroller. If the town officer
or employee charged with the custody and keeping of the record elects or refuses
access, he shall submit to requestor written statement of his reason therefor
within 48 hours of such request.
A.
Copies. The town officer or employee charged with the
custody and keeping of the record shall upon request make a copy or copies
of any record subject to such inspection upon a payment of a fee of $0.25
per page. If a copy or copies are desired thereof by the requestor, the town
officer or employee charged with the custody and keeping of the record shall
make the same and mail or deliver the same to the requestor within one week
depending on the volume and number of copies requested.[1]
B.
Certification. Any town officer or employee charged with
the custody and keeping of any such record shall upon request, certify a copy
of a document or record prepared pursuant to the provisions of the preceding
subsection upon payment of a fee of $0.25.
To prevent an unwarranted invasion of a personal privacy, the Committee
on Open Government may promulgate guidelines for the deletion of identifying
details for specified records which are to be made available. In the absence
of such guidelines, an agency or municipality may delete identifying details
when it makes records available. An unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
includes, but shall not be limited to:
A.
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.
B.
Disclosure of employment, medical or credit histories
or personal references of applicants for employment, except such records may
be disclosed when the applicant has provided a written release permitting
such disclosure.
C.
Disclosure of items involving the medical or personal
records of a client or patient in a hospital or medical facility.
D.
The sale or release of lists of names and addresses in
the possession of any department if such lists would be used for private commercial
or fund-raising purposes.
E.
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 department.
In addition to such requirements as may be imposed by this chapter or
by Chapter 578 of the Laws of 1974, each board, commission or other group
of the town having more than one member shall maintain and make available
for public inspection a record of the final votes of each member in every
agency proceeding in which he votes.
[Added 2-14-1989]
A.
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1, issued
pursuant to Article 57-A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, and containing
legal minimum retention periods for municipal government records, is hereby
adopted for use by all municipal officers in disposing of municipal government
records listed therein.
B.
In accordance with Article 57-A:
(1)
Only those records will be disposed of that are described
in Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 after they have met the
minimum retention period prescribed therein.
(2)
Only those records will be disposed of that do not have
sufficient administrative, fiscal, legal or historical value to merit retention
beyond established time periods.