Public takes advantage of law to access info
Zoning, building plans most requested

By Larry Fisher-Hertz Poughkeepsie Journal March 11, 2005

Sue Miller says it's part of her job to help people obtain information about government, and she's happy to oblige.
''Hardly a day goes by that somebody doesn't come in to the office and file a request for information,'' said Miller, Town of Poughkeepsie's longtime clerk.
Miller is one of dozens of public officials designated as official gatekeepers of documents, minutes of meetings and other information deemed to be public under the federal Freedom of Information Act and state open meetings laws.
This week has been designated Sunshine Week by media organizations and other groups pressing for access to government information. Some of the groups contend information is withheld, often by officials who cite post-Sept. 11, 2001, security concerns.
The idea for a national Sunshine Week was proposed by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Common people benefit
The laws are used on a regular basis by journalists in the course of their coverage of local, county and state governments. But Miller said most requests filed in her office and other town and village halls around the state come from ordinary citizens.
''Most of our requests come from people seeking information from the building or planning departments,'' she said. ''Some are prospective buyers looking for information about the property they're interested in, to see about any zoning violations or other problems. Others are builders or engineers who want to look at site plans.''
Miller said the volume of information requests has been inching up slowly over the past few years but the numbers were not placing any strain on her or her staff.
State laws give public officials up to five business days to respond to requests for information. Rebecca Centorani, a town building department employee who fields requests for building and zoning documents, said most of those requests are for routine information she is able to retrieve on the spot.
Miller said she tries to help those seeking information obtain it as quickly as possible, ''but if it's going to take some time, I write the person a cover letter explaining the reason for the delay."
Town resident Doreen Tignanelli, who is active on environmental issues, said she often uses the law to obtain information about new subdivisions and other building projects she fears may harm the environment.
She said not every request has been dealt with as quickly as she would like.
''For some reason, it seems municipalities are not always willing to share information that actually is public record,'' Tignanelli said.
''In my own case, even after filing a request, I have had information denied to me that should not have been," she said. "That is when I turned to Robert Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government. Thanks to an opinion from Mr. Freeman, I was then granted access to the documents I requested.''
Panel helps sort disputes
Dutchess County Attorney Ian MacDonald, who handles disputes between county officials and citizens seeking information and documents, characterized Freeman and his staff as a valuable resource for sorting out what information should or should not be made public.
''Bob is very easy to work with,'' MacDonald said, adding most disputes over what information ought to be released involve police agencies.
''It's our position, for example, that all documents pertaining to ongoing criminal investigations are not public," MacDonald said. "Not everyone agrees.''
Town police detective Capt. Michael Woods said he has fielded hundreds of requests for police documents during the five years he served as the department's public access officer. Most were routine.
''Our most common requests are for blotter entries about auto accidents that people need for their insurance companies,'' Woods said. ''We handle a lot of other things as well, but most requests about criminal cases are handled through subpoenas'' rather than Freedom of Information letters.
In many cases, even if he releases information contained in a police report, he will exclude certain information to protect the privacy of civilians, Woods said.
''Maybe there's something in a police officer's report about someone who called us to report suspicious activity at a neighbor's home,'' he said. ''I'd redact the person's name from something like that, just as I would for victims of sex crimes, things like that.
''It's always a balancing act,'' Woods said. ''You want the public to get the information they're entitled to, but at the same time, you want to protect victims and other innocent people.''

ON THE WEB -
To learn more about the law: www.sunshineweek.org
- New York State Committee on Open Government: www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/coogwww.html

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