[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Stewart Manor 10-9-1974. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Village Board hereby promulgates this set of rules in accordance
with Chapter 578 of the Laws of 1974.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Article 6 of the Public Officers Law.
The Village Clerk is hereby designated as the records access
officer of the Village of Stewart Manor.
Persons seeking public records shall make application to the
records access officer upon the application form supplied by such
officer in the event that such records are not readily available.
The records access officer is hereby directed to make available
to persons requesting records those public records which, by law,
are required to be made available for public inspection and copying.
In the event that the request for public records interferes with the
operation of the office of the Village Clerk and makes it difficult
for members of the public to receive the regular services of the Village
Clerk, the records access officer is hereby authorized to establish
hours during each day when he shall process requests for records,
including the times when such requests shall be made in order to enable
him to find the records for review and copying. The times so established
by the records access officer shall be conspicuously posted in the
office of the Village Clerk.
The records access officer is authorized to copy any records which are within the purview of the law and to charge the per-page fee as set forth in the current Village Fee Schedule (see Chapter 83, Fees). No records shall be reproduced until payment is first received. Search time will be charged at the rate as set forth in the current Village Fee Schedule (see Chapter 83, Fees).
No records shall be removed from the lawful custody of any public
office charged with the duty of maintaining such records.
In the event that any requests cannot be met because such records
are being used for current working purposes, the applicant shall be
advised of such fact and every effort will be made to arrange a specific
time when such records will be available.
In the event that a question arises as to the nature of the
records in that public viewing of such records may result in an unwarranted
invasion of a citizen's personal privacy or may result in a disclosure
of material that must be confidential to promote effective law enforcement
or for any other reason which, in the opinion of the records access
officer, are valid to promote the public interest while consistent
with the new law, the records access officer shall confer with the
Village Attorney before determining if such records shall be made
available for inspection.
In the event that any person is denied access to any public
records in violation of the law, that person shall advise the Village
Board of such denial, in writing, and set forth the records requested,
the reason for denial and the fact that the fees for such records
were, in fact, tendered.
These regulations shall be temporary and considered as such
until the state guidelines are promulgated and until more comprehensive
regulations can be prepared.
The purpose of such regulations shall be to maintain the spirit
of the law and to recognize that the concept of open records is consistent
with the purpose of this Board of Trustees.
