Access to Fire District Records and Record Keeping

• Author: Raymond S. DiRaddo
• Pages: 529-564

Chapter 11

Access to Fire District Records

and Record Keeping

New York Fire District Officers’ Guide

§11:10 11-2

§11:10 PUBLIC ACCESS TO RECORDS AND RECORD RETENTION

§11:10.1 F.O.I.L. PUBLIC POLICY

Fire Districts share the same responsibility as other governmental entities regarding public access to

records and record retention. The public policy behind both these obligations is the same, that is, the people’s

right to know the process of government decision-making and the documents and statistics leading to those

determinations. Accordingly, Fire District personnel are required to furnish to the public the information and

records required by the Freedom of Information Law.

§11:10.2 LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS LAW

Public records are essential to the administration of a fire district. Public records contain information that

allows fire district programs to function, provides officials with a basis for making decisions, and ensures

continuity with past operations. Public records document the legal responsibility of fire districts, protect the

rights of citizens, and provide citizens with a means of monitoring fire district programs and measuring the

performance of public officials. Fire District records also reflect the historical development of the government

and the community the Fire District serves. Such records need to be systematically managed to ensure ready

access to vital information and to promote the efficient and economical operation of government. Article 57A

Art and Cultural Affairs Law.

Under the local government records law, the Fire District Secretary is automatically designated as the Fire

District Records Management Officer. The Records Management Officer oversees the records management

program and coordinates its development. It is the responsibility of the Board of Fire Commissioners to maintain

and retain the fire district records for as long as those records are needed for official fire district business. It is

their responsibility to protect these records and to cooperate with the Records Management Officer as well as to

pass on active official records to their successors in office.

The Fire District Treasurer is the fiscal officer of the Fire District and shall receive and have custody of the

funds of the District and shall disburse these funds on order of the Board of Fire Commissioners.

The Board of Fire Commissioners has exclusive management and control of the property of the Fire District

and, as such, has the responsibility to see that proper and complete records are kept and maintained and that the

funds of the Fire District are properly held and disbursed.

§11:20 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW

The Freedom of Information Law (F.O.I.L.) Public Officers Law, Article 6, is applicable to Fire Districts.

F.O.I.L. requires that fire districts publish rules setting forth the means by which fire district records shall

be available for public inspection and copying. The committee on Open Government provides information

concerning the procedures by which records may be obtained from a fire district. Fire Districts are encouraged

to develop their own procedures to obtain access to its records; however, the fire district policy cannot be more

restrictive than the regulations promulgated by the Committee on Open Government. 21 NYCRR 1401–1409.

§11:20.1 F.O.I.L. POLICY AND RULES

F.O.I.L. requires that the Fire District shall make and publish rules and regulations pertaining to the

availability, location and nature of such records. Although the statute does not indicate how the rules shall be

published, it is recommended that they be published once as a legal notice in the official paper of the Fire District.

See Form 11-1, Policy for Public Access to Records.

Access to Fire District Records and Record Keeping

11-3 §11:20.2.1

§11:20.2 SUBJECT MATTER LIST

The Board of Fire Commissioners must maintain and make available for public inspection and copy, an index

reasonably detailed by subject matter, of any records, which shall be produced, filed or first kept or promulgated

after September 1, 1974. This list may also provide information as to Fire District records held on or before

September 1, 1974.

The Fire District shall maintain this current list, by subject matter, of all records in its possession, whether or

not records are available for public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law.

The subject matter list shall be sufficiently detailed to permit identification of the category of the record

sought and should be updated annually, and the date of the most recent update shall appear on the first page of

the subject matter list. 21 NYCRR 1401.6. Some of the records a fire district should retain include:

• Fire District Minutes

• Fire District Fiscal Records

• Unpaid Checks

• Bank Resolutions

• Annual Audits

• Record of Fire Insurance Proceeds

• State Audits

• Public Notice of Comptroller Examination

• Written Response to Comptroller Examination

• List of Employees

• Documents That Are Accessible Under F.O.I.L.

§11:20.2.1 MINUTES

The Secretary of the Fire District must attend all meetings of the Board of Fire Commissioners and act as

clerk to the Board. In such capacity, he or she must keep accurate minutes of the proceedings of the Board. It is

very important that accurate and complete minutes of the Board be maintained since these reflect the actions of

the Board and give authority to actions taken at Board meetings (e.g., adoption of budgets, expenditures of funds,

audit of claims, establishment of reserve funds and authorizations for borrowing). F.O.I.L. Also see Chapter 5,

Operations of Fire Districts. These minutes must be preserved as a permanent record of the Fire District. They

are public records and are open to inspection by the public. The Department of Audit and Control recommends

that such minutes be kept in bound volumes and not in loose-leaf form. A person is guilty of a violation if he

or she willfully conceals or destroys records available under the Freedom of Information Law with the intent

to prevent the public access to such records. Public Officers Law §8.8 1. Minutes of meetings and all public

hearings, including a record of the final vote of each member of the Board of Fire Commissioners in every fire

district proceeding where the board votes, must be kept. It is recommended that in order to conform to this

requirement, a note should be made in the index that records of all votes are found in the minutes of each Board

of Fire Commissioners Meeting. Recordings of voice conversations, including audio or video tapes, or other

recordings used to produce official minutes of board meetings or public hearings, since these are recordings of

public meetings of the Board of Fire Commissioners, must be retained by the Secretary of the Board of Fire

Commissioners for four months after the written minutes are approved by the Board of Fire Commissioners.

8 NYCRR 185.11 (MU-1 2[2]a). Recordings that are not of public hearings or public meetings need not be

retained. 8 NYCRR 185.11(MU-1 2[2]b).

If the Board of Fire Commissioners has the program produced, and the video is broadcast on a public access

channel, the secretary must retain these recordings permanently.