The Bulletin -- June 3, 2009 (#993)

Program: Issues on Open Government, Bob Freeman

BOB GRADY, EDITOR OF THE PRESS REPUBLICAN, AND ROBERT FREEMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NYS COMMITTEE ON OPEN GOVERNMENT, LISTEN TO PPRES MARTIN MANNIX ASK A QUESTION RELATIVE TO THE STATE’S FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW.

Bob Freeman is the Executive Director of the New York State Department of State Committee On Open Government. Today’s program took on a question/answer format addressing issues pertaining to the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law.

Q: How different or similar are NYS Laws from other states and from the federal government?
A: While every state has some sort of access to records laws, Washington doesn’t have an office such as ours.

Q: There are times when school boards, town meetings etc., go into closed session and the public never knows what occurs behind closed doors. The reason stated is it’s a “personnel” issue. For example, we want to know why our high school principal was not given tenure by the Board. Can you comment on this?
A: There is no personnel law to that effect. Too many of us have heard this over and over and we begin to believe it’s true. You can read the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law and you will find no such law about personnel. There are aspects of personnel issues that need to remain private and those that need to be made public. Remember, FOIL deals with access to records. If there are no records that indicate the reasoning behind a decision, there is nothing to disclose. You’re out of luck. If there is a record indicating the reason and it represents the final determination, it should be public. FOIL says all records need to be made available with only a few exceptions. Government can withhold insofar as disclosure would result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. What is unwarranted? Who determines that? It’s one of those things that is left up to reasonable individuals to determine. In terms of personnel, the only reason a personnel issue can be discussed behind closed doors is “If the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation” is being discussed.

Q: Does FOIL and Open Meetings Law apply to federal courts?
A: No. They are not covered by these. But, as a general rule, we maintain that records kept by the courts are open to the public. There are various exceptions including records that relate to grand jury proceedings under the criminal proceedings law.

Q: Regarding personnel, does it matter who the person is (i.e. a principal vs. an art teacher)?
A: No. The law says a “particular person.” A principal is a particular person in the same way a teacher is.

Q: How do you measure whether the decision to enter a closed session is justifiable?
A: I don’t have a great answer for that. In the case of a board of education, there are standards and criteria that are followed that you can use to figure our. There must be background information and documented incidences relating to the determination for tenure.

Spill the Beans There is no law forbidding a board member from simply explaining what was said in executive session. There is inevitably someone on every board who will just “spill the beans.” Unless there is an act of Congress that forbids it, nothing is stopping them. At the school board level, education records pertaining to students under 18 are available to the parents only unless the parents consent.

For More Information take a look at the brochures or the website: Department of State Committee on Open Government website:

Visiting Rotarians: None

Guests: Joshua Kretser (Amy Kretser); Ricki Marin, Bob Grady and Bob Freeman (Bob Parks); Mary Hills (Kristen Shives); Michael Hartman (Jack Dee).

2009 Paul Harris Fellows

(L-R): BARBARA STRAW, ELEANOR BERGER, KEITH TYO, ALICE SAMPLE AND GAIL RECORE WERE HONORED AS PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS ON MAY 29 FOR THEIR SERVICE TO ROTARY AND THE COMMUNITY.  STRAW, A PREVIOUS PAUL HARRIS FELLOW, ALONG WITH BERGER AND TYO WERE HONORED BY THE ROTARY CLUB OF PLATTSBURGH WHILE RECORE AND SAMPLE WERE HONORED BY THE PLATTSBURGH SUNRISE ROTARY CLUB. SAMPLE, WHO IS NOT A ROTARIAN, WAS CHOSEN BY THE SUNRISE CLUB FOR HER DEDICATION TO CHILD LITERACY.

Seasoned Member Talk: John Seiden was born in Brooklyn, NY. His father met a lady from Montreal and wanted to be closer to her. One job transfer later and the family was relocated to Plattsburgh. John has lived here all of his life and claims to have gone to St. Peter’s Church until the fourth grade… when they kicked him out. He graduated from Plattsburgh High School and afterward spent time traveling. He and a buddy hitchhiked across Canada ending up in Gillette, Wyoming in the oil fields. John has been in the building trades throughout his life. He’s done everything from painting church steeples to learning stone masonry. He dabbled in real estate until he realized he would fair better as a broker. When not buying and selling homes, his countless renovations and refurbishing improve downtown in many ways. A hero of John’s, his grandfather was both police chief and the fire chief. It’s a great source of pride that John’s both of his children have followed suit. One is in the fire department and the other in the police department. On most weekends John, a talented musician, can be found playing guitar in a band. He enjoys Rotary and is proud to be a member.

Fines: Bob Miller spun the wheel for $3, and Phil Green coughed up a $10 cell phone fine.

Happy Dollars

• Ellie Murray announced that she is a speaker at an upcoming seminar on issues relating to senior citizens.
• Cathy Forget apologized for her absence at the Paul Harris Dinner. She was attending her daughter’s wedding.
• Marsha Cook had a not-so-happy dollar to announce that her husband, Bobby, took a nasty spill breaking his wrist. Her “honey-do” list is shot for the summer.
• Jon Cooper praised the Cumberland Bay Show Chorus for the performance he attended with Bill Rowe.
• John Seiden commented on Jon’s Chair tipping over when he stood. He said, “It’s full of money!” (referring to Jon’s wallet in his coat pocket).

50/50 : The pot is worth $816, and Phil Green drew the ace of spades

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