New York Government Contractors Face Key Legal and Ethics Rules
New York Government Contractors Face Key Legal and Ethics Rules This article provides a brief overview of some of the transparency and ethics rules that private contractors should be aware of when conducting business with state agencies. The Author Paul is the founder of the NY Coalition For Open Government and has truly loved seeing […]
Audits of Local Governments
New York State Comptroller: Audits of Local Governments The New York State Comptroller’s office website has a lot of great information on it. We encourage everyone interested in local government to look through it. Above is a link to audits done by the Comptroller’s office, which you can search in various ways. You might be surprised […]
Does our town board need to hold a public hearing for a revised Comprehensive Land Use Plan?
Does our town board need to hold a public hearing for a revised Comprehensive Land Use Plan? QUESTION Tonight, our Town Board is voting on a revised CLUP (Comprehensive Land Use Plan), but does not have a public hearing scheduled. The original CLUP presentation did have a public hearing. Does a revision need a public hearing […]
You have the right to record a public meeting
You have the right to record a public meeting You have the right to record a public meeting. This right has been part of the Open Meetings Law since 2011. Someone recording a public meeting should not make an elected official angry yet it happens. The latest example is the supervisor of the town of Colton getting […]
Executive Session Training
Executive Meeting Training Session The president of the New York Coalition for Open Government, Paul Wolf Esq., leads an education session on how to properly conduct executive sessions that conform with New York State Open Meetings Laws. Duration: 40min https://youtu.be/xftmDCUXFuM The Author Paul is the founder of the NY Coalition For Open Government and has truly […]
Buffalo paralegal Nathan Feist wins lawsuit against the City of Buffalo for denied FOIL request
Buffalo paralegal Nathan Feist wins lawsuit against the City of Buffalo for denied FOIL Requesting Kudos to Buffalo paralegal Nathan Feist who filed and won a lawsuit against the City of Buffalo regarding the denial of his FOIL request. The judge ordered the city to provide the records Nathan requested. Handling a lawsuit on your own […]
Buffalo State to keep finalists secret
Buffalo State to keep finalists secret A public institution, including a college, should never have a secretive process for selecting its leader. A Mayor and a Congressman may find it uncomfortable to have their names publicly revealed, but I am sure they will still participate in the process. The position pays at least $285,000, along with […]
Coalition wants to make Freedom of Information Act part of Arkansas Constitution
Coalition wants to make Freedom of Information Act part of Arkansas Constitution In Arkansas there is an effort underway to make their Freedom of Information Act part of the state constitution. Four states have the right to open government stated in their Constitution (California, Florida, Louisiana, Montana). We are working on a similar effort in NY. Assemblymember […]
Time limit for filing suit
State audit: State DOT failed to respond on-time to FOIL requests Here is another example of how bad NY laws are. In NY, if your Freedom of Information Law request is denied or if your local government violates the Open Meetings Law, you have a four-month deadline to sue. Four months is amazingly short, and many […]
State audit: State DOT failed to respond on-time to FOIL requests
State audit: State DOT failed to respond on-time to FOIL requests Kudos to the NY State Comptroller for doing an audit regarding the NY State Dept of Transportations compliance with the Freedom of Information Law. The Author Paul is the founder of the NY Coalition For Open Government and has truly loved seeing it become […]
