[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Briarcliff
Manor as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-17-1998 by L.L.
No. 7-1998]
It is the intent of the Village of Briarcliff Manor to establish a comprehensive
records management program for the administration of inactive and archival
public records and storage areas for the Village of Briarcliff Manor in accordance
with all applicable local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Official records which have been determined by the Records Management
Officer to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their permanent
preservation by the Village of Briarcliff Manor.
Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings, or any
other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristic, made or received
pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of official Village
of Briarcliff Manor business.
A board designated to work with and provide advice to the Records
Management Officer.
A central storage area maintained by the Records Management Officer
for the storage, servicing, security and processing of records which must
be preserved for varying periods of time.
The removal by the Village of Briarcliff Manor, in accordance with
approved records control schedules, of the records no longer necessary for
the conduct of business by such agency through removal methods which may include
the disposition of temporary records by certified destruction or donation
or the transfer of records to a designated central storage facility for records
with scheduled retention periods or permanent storage of records determined
to have historical or other sufficient value warranting continued preservation.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion
and other managerial activities involved in records creation, records maintenance
and use and records disposition, including records preservation, records disposal
and the records center or other storage facilities.
The Village Clerk in this role known herein as "RMO" will be responsible
for administering the inactive and archival public records and records center
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
Making information in records available for public access to any
agency for official use or to the public.
A.Â
The RMO shall continually survey and examine public records
to recommend their classification so as to determine the most suitable method
to be used for maintaining, storing and servicing them under the following
guidelines:
(1)Â
Disposition. Records deemed obsolete and unnecessary
according to the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule
MU-1, issued pursuant to Article 57-A of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law,
are subject to disposition.
(2)Â
Archival retention. Records containing information with
administrative, legal, fiscal, research, historical or educational value which
warrant their permanent retention are subject to archival retention.
(3)Â
Active retention. Records not yet subject to disposition
according to state law are subject to active retention.
B.Â
The RMO shall establish guidelines for proper records
management in any department of the Village government in accordance with
local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.Â
The RMO shall report annually to the Village Manager
on the powers and duties herein mentioned, including but not limited to the
development and progress of programs to date and planned activities for subsequent
years.
D.Â
The RMO shall operate a central records center for storage,
processing and servicing of all Village records for all Village departments.
E.Â
Additional requirements for the RMO include but are not
limited to:
(1)Â
Setting up and overseeing a records center for the storage
of inactive records.
(2)Â
Development of a comprehensive records management program
which shall include advising and assisting Village departments in reviewing
and selecting material to be transferred to the records center and to the
continued efficient management of records within respective departments.
(3)Â
Conduct of an initial survey and analysis of all records,
to be followed up annually with a report of records stored.
(4)Â
Encouragement and coordination of the continuous legal
destruction of obsolete records through the adoption and use of the State
Archive Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1.
(5)Â
Establish and maintain an adequate repository within
the records center for the proper storage, conservation, processing, and servicing
of archival records.
(6)Â
Development of suitable retention periods for records
not covered by the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule
MU-1, subject to the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
(7)Â
Develop a procedure whereby historically important materials,
which are not official Village records but which have historical value to
the community, are properly maintained subject to archive space and staff
limits particularly when potential endangerment of such materials is possible
if they are not collected by the archives.
(8)Â
Coordination of and carrying out or participating in
the planning for development of advanced records management systems and equipment.
There shall be a Records Advisory Board designated to work closely with
and provide advice to the Records Management Officer. The Board shall consist
of at least three staff members, appointed to one-year terms by the Village
Manager. The Board shall meet periodically and have the following duties:
A.Â
To provide advice to the RMO on the development of the
records management program.
B.Â
To review the performance of the program on an ongoing
basis and propose changes and improvements.
C.Â
To review any changes in retention periods proposed by
the RMO for records not covered by local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
D.Â
To provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival
value.
E.Â
To review all requests for the disposition of records.
F.Â
To provide assistance with the preparation of operative
and/or capital budget requests involving records management.
A.Â
The originating department has full custody over records
still in active use.
B.Â
The originating department is the legal custodian of
its records and shall retain the power to retrieve and use records deposited
in inactive storage in the records center. The RMO will have physical custody
of inactive records and will determine the method and design of storage.
C.Â
Records transferred to or acquired by the archives shall
be under the full custody of the archives as directed by the RMO.
(1)Â
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon the
recommendation of the RMO, with the approval of the head of the department
which has custody of the records and the approval of the Records Advisory
Board.
(2)Â
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the RMO or the head of the department with prior custody,
subject to the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
No record shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department
of the Village unless written approval has been obtained from the RMO and
the Village Manager. The RMO shall consult with the Records Advisory Board
prior to issuing written approval.
The Village Attorney may take steps to recover local government records
which have been alienated from proper custody, and may, when necessary, institute
actions of replevin.
[Adopted 10-1-1998 by L.L.
No. 8-1998]
A.Â
The people's right to know the process of governmental
decisionmaking and to review 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.Â
These regulations provide information concerning the
procedures by which records may be obtained.
C.Â
Village 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, pursuant to this article.
A.Â
The following records, pursuant to Village and state
law, are not accessible to the public:
(1)Â
Those which are specifically exempted from disclosure
by state or federal statute.
(2)Â
Those which, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy under the provisions of Subdivision 2 of § 89
of the Public Officers Law.
(3)Â
Those which, if disclosed, would impair present or imminent
contract awards or collective bargaining negotiations.
(4)Â
Those which are trade secrets or are maintained for the
regulation of commercial enterprise which, if disclosed, would cause substantial
injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise.
(5)Â
Those which are compiled for law enforcement purposes
and which, if disclosed, would:
(a)Â
Interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial
proceedings;
(b)Â
Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial
adjudication;
(c)Â
Identify a confidential source or disclose confidential
information relating to a criminal investigation; or
(d)Â
Reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures,
except routine techniques and procedures.
(6)Â
Those which, if disclosed, would endanger the life or
safety of any person.
(7)Â
Those which are interagency or intraagency materials
which are not:
(8)Â
Those which are examination questions or answers which
are requested prior to the final administration of such questions.
(9)Â
Those which are computer access codes.
B.Â
Any conflicts among laws governing public access to records
shall be construed in favor of the widest possible availability of public
records.
A.Â
The Village Board of the Village of Briarcliff Manor
is responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations herein and designates
the Village Clerk as the Records Access Officer.
B.Â
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. The Records Access Officer
shall ensure that Village personnel:
(1)Â
Maintain an up-to-date subject matter list.
(2)Â
Assist the requester in identifying requested records,
if necessary.
(4)Â
Upon request for copies of records, make a copy available upon payment or offer to pay established fees, if any, in accordance with § 50-16.
(5)Â
Upon request, have the record certified that it is a
true copy.
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
Office of the Village Clerk, 1111 Pleasantville Road, Briarcliff Manor, New
York 10510.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records
produced during all hours the Village Office is regularly open for business.
These hours are 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
holidays.
A.Â
A written request is required.
B.Â
A response shall be given regarding any request reasonably
describing the record or records sought within five business days of receipt
of the request.
C.Â
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.Â
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 10 business
days after the date of acknowledgment of receipt of a request, such failure
may be construed as a denial of access that may be appealed.
A.Â
The Records Access Officer 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.Â
The subject matter list shall be sufficiently detailed
to permit identification of the category of the record sought.
C.Â
The subject matter list shall be updated not less than
once per year. The most recent update shall appear on the first page of the
subject matter list.
A.Â
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.Â
If requested records are not provided promptly as required in § 50-13D of these regulations, such failure shall also be deemed a denial of access.
D.Â
The person or body designated in Subsection C of this section shall receive appeals from denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Law.
E.Â
The time for deciding an appeal by the individual or
body designated to hear appeals shall commence upon receipt of written appeal
identifying:
(1)Â
The date of the appeal.
(2)Â
The date and location of the request for records.
(3)Â
The records to which the requester was denied access.
(4)Â
Whether the denial of access was in writing or due to failure to provide records promptly as required by § 50-13D.
(5)Â
The name and return address of the requester.
F.Â
The individual or body designated to hear appeals shall
inform the requester of its decision in writing within 10 business days of
receipt of an appeal.
G.Â
The person or body designated to hear appeals shall transmit
to the Committee on Open Government copies of all appeals upon receipt of
appeals. Such copies shall be addressed to the Committee on Open Government,
Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231.
H.Â
The person or body designated to hear appeals shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination in writing within 10 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 G of this section.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of the Records
Access Officers and appeals person or body and the location where records
can be seen or copied shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records
are kept and/or published in a local newspaper of general circulation.
This article shall supersede the Village Board of Trustees Resolution
dated February 6, 1975, concerning public access to records.
