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Saratoga County centralizes FOIL responses, appoints records access officer
Summary
The committee approved an amendment to the county's FOIL policy to centralize responses in the county office and appointed a records access officer (paralegal) to handle requests; county staff cited rising FOIL volume and body-camera review needs as reasons for the change.
The Saratoga County Legislative and Government Affairs Committee approved amending the countypolicy and procedure manual to centralize Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) responses in the county office and approved appointing a records access officer to manage requests.
A county legal staff member said the county handled more than 454 FOIL requests last year and had received more than 250 so far this year; staff said the volume and the additional workload of reviewing and redacting body-camera video have made FOIL work effectively a full-time function. The county administrator asked that the county office take over FOIL processing, and staff said a paralegal has been hired and trained to serve as the initial records access officer.
The committee heard that departments will no longer respond directly to FOIL requests under the new policy; instead, departments are to forward requests and cooperate with the county office. The legal adviser to the FOIL function will provide legal support, and the countyappeals officer for FOIL matters will remain as the designated appeals reviewer.
Committee members asked whether the county could support towns and villages with records questions; staff said the county can provide guidance, training and occasional direct assistance but noted that smaller municipalities may lack resources. The amendment to the policies and the appointment of the records access officer were each moved, seconded and approved by the committee.
Staff recognized the newly appointed records access officer in the meeting and said they had completed training, were up and running, and had received positive feedback in initial work handling requests.
