[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Caledonia 10-6-1981
by L.L. No. 2-1981 as Ch. 26 of the 1981 Code. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
This chapter is established pursuant to Article 6 of
the Public Officers Law, known as the "Freedom of Information Law."
B.
This chapter provides the procedures by which records
of the Village of Caledonia may be obtained for inspection and copies thereof
obtained.
C.
Personnel of the Village of Caledonia shall furnish to
the public the information and records required by law and those which were
furnished to the public prior to enactment of the Freedom of Information Law,
subject to the conditions contained in Subdivisions 2 and 7 of § 89
of the Freedom of Information Law or other provisions of law.[1]
A.
The Mayor shall be responsible for assuring compliance
with this chapter and shall designate one or more persons, by name or by specific
job title and official address, as the records access officer.
B.
The records access officer shall be responsible for assuring appropriate response to public requests for access to records. The records access officer shall assure that appropriate personnel are adequately instructed in and properly perform the functions described in §§ 38-6 and 38-7 of this chapter and shall supervise the administration of this chapter.
The records herein described shall be available upon request from the
Village Clerk during normal business hours, but not after one-half (1/2) hour
before the end of normal daily business hours.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
Village Clerk's office, 3095 Main Street, Caledonia, New York.
A.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted
and records produced during all hours regularly open for business, except
that all records must be returned to their proper custodian at least five
minutes before closing time.
A.
Where a request for records is required, such request
may be oral or in writing, as specified by the records access officer. However,
written requests shall not be required for records that have been customarily
available without written request.
B.
Time limit for responding to request.
(1)
Except under extraordinary circumstances, officials shall
respond to a request for records no later than five business days after receipt
of the request, whether the request is oral or in writing.
(2)
If, because of extraordinary circumstances, more than
five business days are required to respond to a request, receipt of the request
shall be acknowledged within five business days after the request is received.
The acknowledgment shall state the reason for delay and estimate the date
when a reply will be made.
C.
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 conforms to the standard that records are
identifiable.
D.
List of records.
(1)
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.
(2)
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. (Note:
To assist requesters, a copy of the subject matter list may be filed with
regulations governing access to records.)
E.
Appropriate personnel of the Village of Caledonia shall
assist the requester in identifying requested records.
A.
A person who has requested access to the public records of this Village of Caledonia shall be given full opportunity to see and inspect such records, unless access is denied as provided in § 38-8 herein.
B.
The requester may also make a copy of the records he
inspects, but no record may be removed from the office where it is located
without the written permission of the person in charge of the office at that
time.
C.
Upon request and payment of the established fee, if any,
the appropriate officer or employee shall prepare and deliver a transcript
of such records.
D.
Upon request and payment of the established fee, if any,
an appropriate official of the Village of Caledonia shall certify as correct
a transcript prepared by the custodian of the records.
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 promptly, as required in § 38-6B of this chapter, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C.
The Mayor shall designate a person or persons or body
to hear appeals from denial of access to records.
D.
The time for deciding an appeal by the individual or
body designated to hear appeals 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 promptly as required by § 38-6B.
(5)
A copy of the written denial, if any.
(6)
The name and return address of the requester.
E.
The individual or body designated to hear appeals shall
inform the requester of its decision, in writing, within seven business days
of receipt of an appeal.
B.
The fee for a photocopy transcript of records shall be
$0.25 per page for pages not exceeding 8 1/2 inches by 14 inches.
C.
The fee for photocopies of records exceeding 8 1/2
inches by 14 inches per page shall be the actual cost of such photocopies,
which shall be deemed to be the average unit cost for making such a photocopy,
excluding fixed costs such as operator salaries.
D.
The fee for a transcript that is typed, handwritten or
otherwise prepared by hand shall cover the clerical time involved in making
the transcript, including comparison for accuracy.
A notice containing the job title or name and business address of the
records access officer and fiscal officer and the name, job title, business
address and telephone number of the appeal person or persons or body and the
location where records can be seen or copies made shall be posted in a conspicuous
location wherever records are kept and/or shall be published in a local newspaper
of general circulation.
