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Town of Seneca Falls, NY
Seneca County
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[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Seneca Falls 10-1-2013 by L.L. No. 3-2014. Amendments noted where applicable.]
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 herein.
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.
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. 
These regulations provide information concerning the procedures by which records may be obtained.
C. 
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 Public Officers Law § 84 et seq.
D. 
Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public records.
A. 
The Town Board is responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates the Town Clerk as records access officer.
B. 
The records access officer is responsible for ensuring appropriate agency response to public requests for access to records. The designation of the records access officer 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.
C. 
The records access officer shall ensure that 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:
(a) 
Make records available for inspection.
(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, take one of the following actions:
(a) 
Make a copy available upon payment of or an offer to pay the established fees, if any, in accordance with § 70-10.
(b) 
Permit the requester to copy those records.
(5) 
Upon request, certify that a record is a true copy.
(6) 
Upon failure to locate records, certify that:
(a) 
The Town is not the custodian for such records; or
(b) 
The records of which the Town is a custodian cannot be found after diligent search.
(7) 
Contact persons seeking records when a request is voluminous or when locating the records sought involves substantial effort, so that Town personnel may ascertain the nature of records of primary interest and attempt to reasonably reduce the volume of the records requested.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the Town Clerk's office, Town Hall, Seneca Falls, New York.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records shall be produced during all hours that the Clerk's office is regularly open for business.
A. 
A written request may be required, but oral requests may be accepted when records are readily available. The Town will accept e-mail requests.
B. 
When the Town maintains requested records on the Internet, a response shall inform a requester that the records are accessible via the Internet and in printed form either on paper or other information storage medium.
C. 
A response shall be given within five business days of receipt of any request reasonably describing the record or records sought by:
(1) 
Informing a person requesting records that the request or portion of the request does not reasonably describe the records sought, including direction, to the extent possible, that would enable that person to request records reasonably described;
(2) 
Granting or denying access to records in whole or in part;
(3) 
Acknowledging the receipt of a request in writing, including an approximate date when the request will be granted or denied in whole or in part, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request and shall not be more than 20 business days after the date of the acknowledgment, or if it is known that circumstances prevent disclosure within 20 business days from the date of such acknowledgment, providing a statement in writing stating the reason for inability to grant the request within that time and a date certain, within a reasonable period under the circumstances of the request, when the request will be granted in whole or in part; or
(4) 
If the receipt of request was acknowledged in writing and included an approximate date when the request would be granted in whole or in part within 20 business days of such acknowledgment, but circumstances prevent disclosure within that time, providing a statement in writing within 20 business days of such acknowledgment stating the reason for the inability to do so and a date certain, within a reasonable period under the circumstances of the request, when the request will be granted in whole or in part.
D. 
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.
E. 
If the records access officer does not provide or deny access to the record sought within five business days of receipt of a request, he or she 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 20 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. 
The records access officer shall maintain a reasonably detailed current list by subject matter of all records in his or her possession, whether or not records are available pursuant to § 87, Subdivision 2, 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 annually. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the subject matter list.
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 body established to hear appeals.
B. 
If requested records are not provided promptly, as required in § 70-7E of this article, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
C. 
The Supervisor shall hear appeals for denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Public Officers Law § 84 et seq.
D. 
Any person denied access to records may appeal within 30 days of a denial. The time for deciding an appeal by the person designated to hear appeals shall commence upon receipt of a written appeal identifying:
(1) 
The date of the appeal.
(2) 
The date and location of the request for records.
(3) 
A description of the records to which the requester was denied access.
(4) 
Whether the denial of access was in writing or due to failure to provide records promptly as required by § 70-7E.
(5) 
The name and return address of the requester.
E. 
The person designated to hear appeals shall inform the requester of his or her decision, in writing, within 10 business days of receipt of an appeal. Failure to determine an appeal within 10 business days of its receipt by granting access to the records sought or fully explaining the reasons for further denial in writing shall constitute a denial of the appeal.
F. 
The person designated to hear appeals shall immediately forward to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt and the ensuing determination thereon.
G. 
A final denial of access to a requested record shall be subject to court review, as provided in Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
Fees shall be charged in amounts as set from time to time by resolution of the Town Board and in accordance with state regulations.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of the records access officer and appeals body and the location where records can be seen or copies may be made shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records are kept.