[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Olive as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 5-2-1978]
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. Access to such information should not be thwarted
by shrouding it with the cloak of secrecy or confidentiality.
B.
Agency personnel shall furnish to the public the information
and records required by the Freedom of Information Law, as well as records
otherwise available by law.
C.
Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records
shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public
records.
A.
[1]The Town Board of the Town of Olive shall be responsible for ensuring
compliance with the rules herein and hereby designates the following as records
access officers:
B.
These records access officers shall have the duty of
coordinating responses to public requests for access to records. The designation
of one or more as records access officers shall not be construed to prohibit
officials who have in the past been authorized to make records or information
available to the public from continuing to do so.
Each agency shall designate the locations where records shall be available
for public inspection and copying.
A.
Each agency shall accept requests for public access to
records and produce records during all hours they are regularly open for business.
B.
In agencies which do not have daily regular business
hours, a written procedure shall be established by which a person may arrange
an appointment to inspect and copy records. Such procedure shall include the
name, position, address and phone number of the party to be contacted for
the purpose of making an appointment.
A.
An agency may require that a request be made in writing
or may make records available upon oral request, depending upon individual
requests and nature thereof.
B.
An agency shall respond to any request reasonably describing
the record or records sought within five business days of receipt of the request.
C.
A request shall reasonably describe the record or records
sought. Whenever possible a person requesting records should supply information
regarding dates, file designations or other information that may help to describe
the records sought.
D.
If the agency does not provide or deny access to the
record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, the agency
shall furnish a written acknowledgment of receipt of the request and a statement
of the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied. If access
to records is neither granted nor denied within 10 business days after the
date of acknowledgment of receipt of a request, the request may be construed
as a denial of access that may be appealed.
A.
Each agency shall maintain a reasonably detailed current
list by subject matter of all records in its possession, whether or not records
are available pursuant to Subdivision 2 of § 87 of the Public Officers
Law.
B.
The subject matter list shall be sufficiently detailed
to permit identification of the category of the record sought.
C.
The subject matter list shall be updated not less than
twice per year. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the
subject matter list.
A.
The Town Board of the Town of Olive or its supervisor
shall hear appeals or shall designate a person or body to hear appeals regarding
denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law.
B.
Denial of access shall be in writing stating the reason
therefor and advising the person denied access of his or her right to appeal
to the person or body established to hear appeals, and that person or body
shall be identified by name, title, business address and business telephone
number. The records access officer shall not be the appeals officer.
C.
If an agency fails to respond to a request within five business days of receipt of a request as required in § 63-5D, such failure shall be deemed a denial of access by the agency.
D.
Any person denied access to records may appeal within
30 days of a denial.
F.
[1]The agency shall transmit to the Committee on Open Government copies
of all appeals upon receipt of an appeal. Such copies shall be addressed to:
Committee on Open Government
Department of State
41 State Street
Albany, New York 12210
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G.
The person or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination in writing within seven business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the Committee on Open Government in the same manner as set forth in Subsection F of this section.[2]
Except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law:
B.
An agency may provide copies of records without charging
a fee; or
C.
An agency may charge a fee for copies of records, provided
that:
(1)
The fee for copying records shall not exceed $0.25 per
page for photocopies not exceeding nine inches by 14 inches. This section
shall not be construed to mandate the raising of fees where agencies in the
past have charged less than $0.25 for such copies.
(2)
In agencies which do not have photocopying equipment,
a transcript of the requested records shall be made upon request. Such transcripts
may either be typed or handwritten. In such cases, the person requesting records
may be charged for the clerical time involved in making the transcript.
Each agency shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location and/or
by publication in a local newspaper of general circulation:
A.
The location where records shall be made available for
inspection and copying.
B.
The name, title, business address and business telephone
number of the designated records access officers.
C.
The right to appeal by any person denied access to a
record and the name and business address of the person or body to whom an
appeal is to be directed.
[Adopted 4-4-1989]
The 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.
In accordance with Article 57-A:
A.
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.
B.
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.