Freedom of Information and the Open Meetings Law

Every citizen has a right to witness the deliberative process of a public body and to access the records detailing the actions taken by that body.

New York State's Open Meetings Law and Freedom of Information Law protect your access. These laws are overseen by the Department of State's Committee on Open Government. You can access the Committee's main page by clicking here.

The Committee's Director, Bob Freeman, dispenses advice by phone, but also issues written opinions on a variety of matters. In Chip's blog entry about access to salary information, he shared an e-mail message sent to the City Council and the City Attorney with relevant links to Committee opinions. He provided the following:
Opinion on Public Employee Salary information in general
Opinion on Public Employee W-2 information specifically

The following are of particular interest for many of the topics that will be covered on the blog:

With regard to information subject to a Freedom of Information request,this opinion details the difference between a record accessible under the law, and 'information in general' that may not always be something that must be provided. If Chip had asked the City Comptroller to produce a graph illustrating the percentage of monies paid to the City Manager in salary as compared to those paid in benefits, he would be asking the Comptroller to produce or compile information. But simply asking for a copy of an existing record, like a W-2 form, is not directing a new administrative action, it is merely demanding compliance with the law.
While City Councilors are presumed to have access to at least as much information as the general public has a right to, perhaps you are wondering if Councilors are allowed to fill out F.O.I. request forms. This piece describes the way in which F.O.I. requests may be filed via e-mail.

While we're on the topic of e-mail...
Did you know that 'collective decision-making' whether via phone or e-mail is considered deliberation for the purposes of the Open Meetings Law? The Committee on Open Government's discussion of e-mail is very interesting and serves as a basis for much of the information discussed on our blog.