What recourse do I have when the town board fails to follow the open meeting rules even after being advised by the town attorney?
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What recourse do I have when the town board fails to follow the open meeting rules even after being advised by the town attorney?
We are looking at some things we think are issues in the City of Cohoes, where transparency seems to be a major concern. Questions: whether public comments made at a workshop meeting become part of the record; whether a city employee can be barred from speaking during public comment; whether any laws beyond the meeting laws require keeping citizens informed; and what can be done about meetings held in a location that is not handicap accessible, with no recordings and minutes that appear a month or more later.
I filed a FOIL request with the New York State Department of Health on January 6 for the full contract between Public Partnerships LLC and the Department related to the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. The request was acknowledged the same day.
On January 15, having heard nothing further, I wrote to say that more than five business days had passed without the record, or a written acknowledgement together with a reasonable approximate date when I would receive it, as required under Section 89(3)(a) of FOIL. That day I was told a determination would be reached in approximately 20 business days, on February 4.
On February 6 I received a message saying the Department is still processing the request, that the office receives between 500 and 700 FOIL requests per month, and that a response will be forthcoming as soon as the process is complete. It does not give me a new date, which violates the law. What are my appeal options? Can you help me write an appeal letter?
We requested body camera footage from a police department through a FOIL request. When we finally received the footage, it appears that the majority of it has been redacted. Is there a way to obtain the unredacted footage?
The state DMV sent me a $2,000 invoice when I requested public records from them. This is the only agency that I’ve ever had do this. I had asked for the investigation and violation history of the various auto repair shops that have operated at a garage in Brooklyn.
About two years ago the DMV did this same thing when I requested records of the personal information they sell. At that time I wrote back asking them to waive the fee, and they said our organization doesn’t qualify for a fee waiver. When we said okay, we would pay the $700 fee, they then denied the request saying it was too broad.
The village noticed a few days ahead of time that the Planning Board was planning a site visit at a development site that has been controversial. That was all they said. But there was a full quorum, and a balloon test was conducted (not successfully), which is used to see how a proposed building will affect sight lines for people in the community.
The balloon test was obviously planned in advance, and some members of the public did show up. Should this not have been noticed as an agenda item? The public was not told that the test would be conducted. I believe that many more would have shown up if they had known.
My son started at public school last year, and a group of parents I’m part of has run into questions about our school board’s compliance with the Open Meetings Law. It appears most decisions are made in committees that are not open to the public or not well publicized, and the district has refused to let members of our group attend relevant committees. Notices of the committee meetings go only to the local paper, which is easy to miss.
The district says its past practice is not to take or post minutes or agendas for the committees that are open to public observation, because it says this is not a requirement. It also says that because its board subcommittee meetings did not involve formal motions, proposals, resolutions or anything formally voted upon, there have been no minutes to post.
Aren’t agendas and minutes a requirement of meetings of public bodies, even if they are not taking formal action or votes? And is a committee outside the Open Meetings Law only if it is advisory in nature?
The county recently conducted an internal review of the public defender’s office and determined two of the top attorneys should be required to resign. One did. The other got a different job in the county.
I FOILed for a copy of the “work product” — whatever it was the law firm hired to perform the review determined — and the county attorney denied the request in full. Am I not entitled to a redacted copy at least? Or is he right that all of it is exempt? I intend to appeal just the same.
I’m writing after reading your post on rules local New York governments should follow regarding board meetings. I live in the Village of Arcade, and this past year the board held several what I’ll call “secret” meetings. They posted on their social media page that they were holding meetings about “removing someone from the board” for some “violation,” but they refused to state who it was or what the accusation was.
When I contacted the village and said that posting public information without giving the actual information was tantamount to lying, they said that they had to protect the identity of the person. That makes zero sense if that person is an employee of the village. We have a right to know who it is and what is being charged without having to attend the meeting. Am I crazy?
I have an open government question from a story that has been playing out in Seneca Falls. I’m not a reporter these days, but I’m trying to help the community get to the bottom of an issue regarding a recent vote.
The gist: the Seneca Falls Town Board is saying two votes are valid, despite there being no record of a motion or second before either vote, which is on video. Some residents are asking for a re-vote next month, but the Supervisor says the votes stand because Robert’s Rules aren’t legally binding. However, the town board adopts Robert’s Rules annually at its organizational meeting. So, in order for a vote to be legally binding, wouldn’t a motion and second be necessary?
Another wrinkle is that the elected town clerk wasn’t at the meeting, so she has no way to verify who made the motion or second. What kind of legal exposure would a clerk have if a supervisor instructed her to add someone as the motion maker even though there’s no record of it on video?
Three questions: (1) What materials must a village board release to the public connected to a routine meeting? Do they only have to release an agenda? What about a presentation shown at the meeting that centers on a project for which a grant or bond or public expenditure will be needed? (2) If a village board modifies a bill, must it call a new public hearing? What amendments are allowed before new notice is required? (3) If a board holds and closes a public hearing, how long does it have before it must take action on a bill?
I was just made aware of a public official obtaining checks from a local government that were paid to a vendor. Here’s the odd part for me: all of the amounts and reasons for payment on the checks are redacted. Is that legal? It’s not one check. It’s probably at least more than a dozen, maybe more. I haven’t seen all of them.
I’m a local news editor. Would you be able to cite the statute, Committee on Open Government advisory opinion, or case law in support of these two statements on your Open Meetings Law page? First, that if at least two members of a committee are elected officials then the committee must follow the Open Meetings Law, while a committee that only advises the full board is an advisory committee and is not required to follow it. Second, that although an advisory committee is not required to follow the Open Meetings Law, it can voluntarily comply, or a local government can adopt rules requiring all committees to comply.
I’m a newspaper editor. Would you be able to offer any guidance on where I can find any case law on whether legal notices of claim against municipalities are subject to FOIL in New York State?
I have been having issues with a local New York village for several years regarding FOIL. I have filed and been successful in Article 78 proceedings previously.
Currently I have been repeatedly denied access to records I requested by letter and email because I have refused to fill out a certain village-prescribed FOIL request form. I have read Committee on Open Government opinions on the point that an agency or municipality cannot require a FOIL requester to use a prescribed form, as long as a letter or other means of request meets the requirements and provides the information needed to search for the records. The village continues to refuse me the opportunity to review the information until I fill out their form.
I am planning to file an Article 78 on the matter, but I want to ask whether I am correct that I don’t have to fill out the village-prescribed form, and whether you are aware of any case law supporting my position.
A school district denied my FOIL request for two investigation reports, both withheld on the basis of attorney-client privilege. The district did release one of the reports to another person involved in the matter. I intended to appeal the denial but did not do so promptly. Do I have any further recourse to obtain the reports? I understand information would be redacted.
What are the requirements for transparency regarding local task forces? Are they mandated to be disclosed and/or listed — as an example, on a town website — for the public in the manner that other boards and committees are?
I previously served as a town clerk and was asked the following question. The town board approved meeting minutes earlier in the year. Now the planning board wants the original meeting minutes changed to reflect a change made by the town board at a later meeting.
Can they change the original meeting minutes, or do they have to post the change in the new meeting minutes for the meeting where the change was made? Basically, can town meeting minutes be changed after they have already been posted because something changed months later? Does this not violate the Open Meetings Law? Can you provide proof of whatever the answer is?
If the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has files that indicate the locations of rare plant species, does the NYS Freedom of Information Law or regulations adopted under that statute require the Department to release that information to a member of the public in response to a properly filed FOIL request?
I’m a reporter in Saratoga County. I recently tried to attend a meeting of a Civilian Review Board in Saratoga Springs, but when I went to the time and place listed on the agenda, no one was there. I waited for 30 minutes and no one showed up. I checked social media, the website, and my email for any notice that the meeting was cancelled, but didn’t see anything. I later saw the CRB post the next meeting’s agenda, which was a duplicate of the meeting that seemed to have been cancelled without notice.
My question is this: is there any requirement under the Open Meetings Law to give notice when a previously noticed meeting is cancelled?
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