Can you please clarify if there are any requirements for what a resident must provide to officially appeal a FOIL request denial or non-response?
Are there specific procedures regarding who the appeal must be sent to, how it should be submitted, and where it must be directed?
I am a reporter working on a story about a public school district that has faced several allegations of teachers having inappropriate relationships with students. Those teachers undergo NY 3020-A proceedings and often reach an agreement to surrender their teaching licenses.
However, when we file FOIL requests for documents, the records we receive make no mention of what the teachers are actually accused of. We know the accusations from a deposition in a civil case, but we’re hoping to find the paper trail within the district. We’ve learned that some teachers were able to surrender their licenses before facing a fact-finding hearing, and in one case, the district entered into an agreement with a teacher, allowing him to take medical leave instead of facing punishment. These teachers were all rumored to have committed sexual misconduct.
We’re wondering why there is no record in the district’s possession disclosing the accusations against these teachers. Is this a loophole? Is there a specific document we should be asking for?
Thank you for your question.
Dog license information, as indicated in the opinion by the NY Committee on Open Government, should be disclosed. You can review that opinion here:
Opinion on Dog License Information
In another opinion, the Committee stated:
Opinion on Dog Bite Victim Information
“While the name, address, telephone number, or other personally identifiable details concerning a dog bite victim could properly be withheld, the location of a dog bite incident, a description of how the bite occurred, and the name of a health professional who provided treatment would be available.”
Regarding injury reports, the Committee also stated:
“Portions of the injury reports may be withheld or redacted insofar as disclosure could identify the injured person.”
With respect to HIPAA, the following was noted in another determination:
“Critical in my view is the assertion in the determination of your appeal that injury report forms are completed by ‘certified medical staff’ who qualify as ‘health care providers’ subject to HIPAA. Because that is so, insofar as the information contained on the forms consists of ‘protected health information’ as defined in federal HIPAA regulations, I believe that a denial of access based on HIPAA is appropriate and consistent with the law. A ‘health care provider’ is a person or entity that provides ‘care, services, or supplies related to the health of an individual,’ and ‘protected health information’ includes material collected from an individual and ‘created or received’ by a health care provider.”
In your case, you could and should receive redacted information. A specific HIPAA policy may not be necessary for the County to claim HIPAA protection, but an argument could be made that a dog control officer is not a health care provider subject to HIPAA.
I suggest filing an appeal and referencing these opinions to strengthen your case for obtaining some of the information you requested.
I understand your frustration. The contact information for elected officials should be available to the public.
Back in 2017 and 2018 as part of a report we did, we looked at whether contact information for elected officials and department heads were posted online.
We did not do your town of Newfane.
Elected officials and the public have the right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. It should not take months for a city councilmember to have their questions answered, and FOIL requests submitted by the Niagara Gazette should not be ignored.
It’s clear that either the mayor is embarrassed by the amount of legal fees incurred or is too stubborn to provide an answer—both are unacceptable responses.
The public has a right to know, and keeping them in the dark is not how city government is supposed to operate.
My understanding is that until a decision is made regarding the disciplinary action it can be redacted.
See opinion below
https://docsopengovernment.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f17195.html
Thank you for reaching out.
While it’s true that some items in financial disclosures can be redacted for privacy reasons, public officials generally have a lower expectation of privacy in these matters. Here’s a breakdown of what might be considered reasonable or questionable redactions:
•Home Addresses: This is a common and generally accepted redaction for privacy and security reasons.
•Outside Businesses/Income: Some financial disclosure forms may opt to categorize income in broad ranges rather than specific dollar amounts. However, it’s crucial that the source of outside income be disclosed, as it speaks to potential conflicts of interest.
•Spouse’s Job Title: Redacting the job title of a spouse who works for the county raises a red flag. There’s little justification for this unless it compromises personal safety, and transparency should be prioritized in such cases.
Feel free to send over the forms, and we can further review the specifics.
Yes you can submit a FOIL request to obtain the resumes and employment applications of the individuals who have applied for the Village Administrator position. See the opinion by the NY Committee on Open Government below.
They can redact some information for privacy reasons such as SSN, address, hobbies, etc. items that are not directly related to the employment position.
https://docsopengovernment.dos.ny.gov/coog/ftext/f12918.htm
“The first area of inquiry involves any requirement that the District publicize or disclose the
names of those who have applied to fill the vacant position. In this regard, there is nothing in the
Freedom of Information Law or any other law of which I am aware that would require that the
District, on its own initiative, to disclose the names of applicants. However, in response to a request
made under the Freedom of Information Law, I believe that the District would be required to disclose
a record or records identifying the applicants.”
Unfortunately they can take 90 days to respond to your FOIL request, as indicated by the Committee on Open Government opinion below.
You can file an appeal objecting to the delay. Sometimes, they will respond quicker, but not always.
I have a FOIL issue I’d like your take on. The Albany County Legislature recently narrowly defeated a bill to provide funding for attorney representation for low income tenants facing eviction. I believe funding has already been made available for legal aid to provide attorneys to tenants in these circumstances.
It is common knowledge that some county legislators are also landlords. In general, landlords oppose tenants having legal counsel in eviction proceedings, for obvious reasons. So it would be interesting for the public to know who owns rental property in the county, how much they own, to determine if there might be any ethical issue with any legislator’s vote.
I submitted a FOIL request for all the County legislators’ recently filed ethics forms through the County Clerk’s office and eventually received the responses. In each and every case, the answer to the question of whether the legislator or family member had a financial interest in real property in the county was redacted.
It would seem that the public has a legitimate interest in this information, and it would seem that neither the County nor a legislator would have a legitimate reason in restricting release of this information. Such information would be available if a search of the County’s real property records was made, which would be time-consuming and arduous.
