Town of North Greenbush, NY Chapter 141 Records, Public Access to

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of North Greenbush 1-27-1981 by L.L. No. 2-1981 as Ch. 34 of the 1981 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Fees — See Ch. 95.

§ 141-1 Purpose; scope; construal of provisions.

A. The people's right to know the process of government decisionmaking and the documents and statistics leading to determinations is basic to our society.

B. These regulations provide information concerning the procedures by which records may be obtained from the Town of North Greenbush.

C. Town personnel shall furnish to the public the information and records required by the Freedom of Information Law,[1] as well as records otherwise available by law.

[1] Editor's Note: See Art. 6 of the Public Officers Law.

D. Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public records.

§ 141-2 Records access officers.

A. The Town Board of the Town of North Greenbush shall appoint a Records Access Officer from among the appointed officers or employees of the Town and such Records Access Officer is and shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and with the Freedom of Information Law. The following persons are designated as assistant records access officers in their respective areas of responsibility:

[Amended 11-14-1991 by L.L. No. 9-1991; 3-25-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004]

(1) Supervisor.

(2) Receiver of Taxes.

(3) Assessor.

(4) Police Chief.

(5) Highway Superintendent.

(6) Town Clerk.

(7) Comptroller.

(8) Chairman of the Zoning Board.

(9) Chairman of the Planning Board.

(10) Building Director.

[Amended 4-13-2006 by L.L. No. 2-2006]

(11) Chairmen of all standing committees.

(12) Fire Commissioner.

(13) Animal Control Officer.

(14) Clerks of the Town Court.

B. The records access officers are responsible for assuring that Town personnel:

(1) Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.

(2) Assist the requester in identifying requested records, if necessary.

(3) Upon locating the records, take one of the following actions in accordance with §§ 141-6 and 141-7:

(a) Make records available for inspection; or

(b) Deny access to the records, in whole or in part, and explain in writing the reasons therefor.

(4) Upon request for copies of records:

(a) Make a copy available upon payment of established fees in accordance with § 141-8; or

(b) Permit the requester to copy these records.

(5) Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.

(6) Upon failure to locate records, certify that:

(a) The Town of North Greenbush is not the legal custodian for such records; or

(b) The records of which the Town of North Greenbush is a legal custodian, after diligent search, cannot be found.

§ 141-3 Fiscal officers.

A. The Supervisor is designated the fiscal officer, who shall certify the payroll and respond to requests, in accordance with § 141-6, for an itemized record, setting forth the name, public address, title and salary of every officer or employee of the Town.

B. The fiscal officer shall make the payroll items listed above available to any person as required by the New York State Public Officers Law.

[Amended 11-14-1991 by L.L. No. 9-1991]

§ 141-4 Location of records.

[Amended 3-25-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004]

Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the Town of North Greenbush Offices, 2 Douglas Street, Wynantskill, New York, or at such other location as the Records Access Officer shall indicate they are kept.

§ 141-5 Hours for public inspection.

[Amended 11-14-1991 by L.L. No. 9-1991]

Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records produced during all hours regularly open for business. These hours are as follows:

A. Town Office: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

B. Town Clerk: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

§ 141-6 Requests for access.

A. Where a request for records is required, such request shall be in writing.

B. A request for access to records should be sufficiently detailed to identify the records. Where possible, the requester should supply information regarding dates, titles, file designations or other information which may help identify the records. However, a request for any or all records falling within a specific category shall conform to the standard that records be identifiable.

C. A current list by subject matter of all records produced, filed or first kept or promulgated after September 1, 1974, shall be available for public inspection and copying. The list shall be sufficiently detailed to permit the requester to identify the file category of the records sought. The subject matter list shall be updated periodically, and the date of the most recent updating shall appear on the first page. The updating of the subject matter list shall not be less than semiannual.

D. No records may be removed by the requester from the office where the record is located.

E. Within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, the records access officers must make the record available, deny access in writing pursuant to § 141-7A or furnish a written acknowledgment of receipt of the request and a statement of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied.

§ 141-7 Denial of access.

A. Denial of access to records shall be in writing, stating the reason therefor and advising the requester of the right to appeal to the individual or body established to hear appeals.

B. If requested records are not provided as required in § 141-6, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.

C. The Town Board of the Town of North Greenbush shall hear appeals from denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Art. 6 of the Public Officers Law.

D. The time for deciding an appeal by the Town Board shall commence upon receipt of written appeal identifying:

(1) The date of the appeal.

(2) The date and location of the request for records.

(3) The records to which the requester was denied access.

(4) Whether the denial of access was in writing or was by failure to provide records as required by § 141-6.

(5) The name and return address of the requester.

E. The Town Board shall inform the requester of its decision, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of an appeal.

F. A final denial of access to a requested record, as provided for in Subsection E of this section, shall be subject to court review as provided for in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

§ 141-8 Fees.

A. Except where a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law, there shall be no fee charged for:

(1) Inspection of records.

(2) Search for records.

(3) Any certification pursuant to this chapter.

B. Copies of records shall be provided at a cost as provided in Chapter 95, Fees.

[Amended 11-14-1991 by L.L. No. 9-1991]

§ 141-9 Public notice.

A notice containing the job title or name and business address of the records access officers and fiscal officer, a statement that the Town Board is the appeal body and the location where records can be seen or copied shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records are kept.